Concrete slabs - what to do...

[mater]

quote:Originally posted by jlm

I've seen it done this way:

Dig a trench up to the walkway on either side, then cut a piece of conduit about a foot or so longer than the width of the walkway. Flatten about an inch of one end of the conduit so it doesn't get packed with dirt, then just hammer it through the soil under the walkway, flat end first. The sharp, flat section should cut through the dirt like butter. Once it's through, hacksaw off the flattened bit (and probably the bunged up bit on the other end from where you hammered - use a block of wood to soften the blows, too), attach fittings to the ends, and hook it up to the rest of your conduit.

This method works best if you have a couple of feet on one side of the walkway where you can run your trench at 90 degrees to the slabs, so you have room to hammer the conduit through straight and level.

This is the way I have done it. I just grab a couple of SIL's and go at it.

[cwsmith]

I had to put a new incoming water line to my home about 18 years ago. Problem was, the house sits up above the roadway probably at least 12 feet or so. I called three different backhoe guys and all of them wanted at least $1,800 to dig me a trench and then more money to take out a section of sidewalk and then pour a new section.

I went out and bought a pick! It took me a little over a week, working a couple of hours each night and then one full weekend. I live in NY's southern tier, it's all hard clay and rock, but what the heck, it was good exercise.

When it came to the side walk, I dug a trench on one side and a big hole on the other (big enough to stand in anyway) and using a 5 ft digging bar and a crow bar, I dug about a 10-inch hole under the side walk (a good 4 feet) I ran into a big rock and had to move to the side of it, but got the job done. Actually the sidewalk tunneling was the easiest part.

CWS