Not sure which forum is best for this question, but here goes.
I need to replace a post lantern in my front garden. The current one, which I'm discarding, is screwed into a round concrete base about a foot in diameter. I want to reuse the existing base for the new lantern.
Problem is, it's not quite level. I have reason to believe it goes about two feet into the ground (I had to dig out another one in the back yard) but over the years it's settled slightly, with the result that the existing lantern is not plumb. Maybe 15% off.
I really, REALLY don't want to dig it out and repour it. (A) It'd be a lot of very hard work and (B) I'd end up wrecking the garden that it's in. If I can reuse it, I'm willing to gamble that it won't shift or settle any more. It's been in there probably 40 years.
So how can I level it? Can I grind it down? I have a 4.5" grinder, but the concrete grinding wheels I saw at HD sell for upwards of $100. Could I just use a masonry cutting wheel and sort of chip out pieces until it's level? (No doubt the result would be less pretty, but the disk is cheaper and I could cover the base with garden mulch.) Or is there a way to *add* a little bit of concrete or other material to bring the low side up to level? Obviously it would need to bond with the existing concrete.
Or am I overthinking this, and there's some easy way to shim underneath the lantern to make it securely plumb?
Basically I'm wondering whether anyone else has tackled a similar problem and come up with an easy and effective solution. Thanks for insights.
I need to replace a post lantern in my front garden. The current one, which I'm discarding, is screwed into a round concrete base about a foot in diameter. I want to reuse the existing base for the new lantern.
Problem is, it's not quite level. I have reason to believe it goes about two feet into the ground (I had to dig out another one in the back yard) but over the years it's settled slightly, with the result that the existing lantern is not plumb. Maybe 15% off.
I really, REALLY don't want to dig it out and repour it. (A) It'd be a lot of very hard work and (B) I'd end up wrecking the garden that it's in. If I can reuse it, I'm willing to gamble that it won't shift or settle any more. It's been in there probably 40 years.
So how can I level it? Can I grind it down? I have a 4.5" grinder, but the concrete grinding wheels I saw at HD sell for upwards of $100. Could I just use a masonry cutting wheel and sort of chip out pieces until it's level? (No doubt the result would be less pretty, but the disk is cheaper and I could cover the base with garden mulch.) Or is there a way to *add* a little bit of concrete or other material to bring the low side up to level? Obviously it would need to bond with the existing concrete.
Or am I overthinking this, and there's some easy way to shim underneath the lantern to make it securely plumb?
Basically I'm wondering whether anyone else has tackled a similar problem and come up with an easy and effective solution. Thanks for insights.