[justincase123]

Hi all! great site. A couple years ago I put out some grape vines and put posts 2' in the ground to trellis them. I didn't have any bags of concrete at the time to put around the posts, so I mixed up my own concoction. I had some leftover sand and some small rock and a couple bags of mortar. I mixed all of that together and put around the posts. Unfortunately the grape vines died and now my son wants to pull the posts out. He tried to pull them out with his b-pole on his tractor but it bent the b-pole. I want to just saw them off and forget it but undaunted he went and got a heavier duty b-pole. It seems to me that the concoction I mixed is really strong, I tried to bust it loose with a hammer but it broke the hammer with the first hit. I don't want him to tear up the tractor messing with them, so before he tries again with the new pole, do any of you concrete guys know what I mixed and how strong it may be. Thanks !

 

[jklingel]

No idea what ratio mixed, but it sounds like you want to pull the posts out of the concrete? Or all out of the ground? Either way, you better have a pretty big machine. My guess is you'll need at least a few tons of pull anything out, and likely 4 or 5 tons if your soil has any moxie to it. That is just a gut feeling from having pulled a few smaller posts out.

 

[justincase123]

thanks! He has a 2555 JD (76hp) and yeah he wants to pull concrete and all, I'm just not sure its good to try and do that with the tractor. I really did not think the mix I made would be so strong, I guess I thought it would just knock off like mortar if I ever decided to remove the post.

 

[jklingel]

If his "lifter" is strong enough, I guess the worst he can do is pop a wheelie. The smaller posts that I pulled were 4 x 6 wood, no concrete, and they were pretty damn tough w/ my skid steer, which lifts 3100 lbs or so. Some would pull the back end up until I dug them out more. They were only down about 30", too. Friction and some mechanical locking can be pretty impressive. Good luck.

 

[justincase123]

thanks again!

 

[md2lgyk]

Uh, if they're only 2 feet down, why not just dig them out?

 

[justincase123]

I know, or saw them off. My son is an engineer and a gadget guy, everything has to be more power, beefed up Tim Allen home improvement style with him. He's usually really handy to have around, but sometimes he goes a little over on the gadgets. He is going to come "help" me out this weekend for mother's day. Last year it took me a week to clean up the mess after my "day off" lol. I just don't want to put stress on the tractor which is quite expensive and was hard to come by. Thanks for the help. Maybe it will rain! LOL

 

[joed]

Push them side to side first to loosen them. Dig a little bit around the top.

 

[concretemasonry]

Soaking the soil for a day or so will help.

Your son may have used an auger to bore a clean, smooth hole that should make them esaier to remove. If you hand dug the hole and ahave rough sides, there is a lot for the concrete to hold on to.

What is the diameter of the holes/globs of concrete you have? It is probably far too big for the use. Strong concrete is not necessary for your application since there is no vertical load and the concrete just adds to the width to resist lateral wind, etc.

Dick

 

[BigD9]

I would dig down one side of the concrete, then rock the post into the dug out area. Once the concrete rocks a little it should be able to be pulled up.

 

[jklingel]

1/8th stick of dynamite at each hole. simple.

 

[concretemasonry]

With a stick, and you are very close to a pond you could also get some fish if you are quick with a net. - Incidential damage from construction.

Dick

 

[jklingel]

A cat back home told me about family get-togethers on the Mississippi River. They'd build huge bon fires, play around for hours till the fires burned down, then dig out the hard, round rocks they had soaking in the coals all day. They'd roll them off a high bank into the river while cats below, in boats, would go around and scoop up fish after the rocks exploded. He said the blasts were quite impressive.

 

[justincase123]

Are you guys sure you don't know my son ?:laughing: I needed a good laugh today! Thanks for the tips, I will try to rock them first and by the way there is a pond nearby.

 

[BigD9]

A cat back home told me about family get-togethers on the Mississippi River. They'd build huge bon fires, play around for hours till the fires burned down, then dig out the hard, round rocks they had soaking in the coals all day. They'd roll them off a high bank into the river while cats below, in boats, would go around and scoop up fish after the rocks exploded. He said the blasts were quite impressive.

And all this time I have been using a sledgehammer to make small rocks out of big ones. Just think, I could have been having a LOT of fun doing it your way! I've got a fire, and a swimming pool right? Could work, right? :whistling2:

 

[BigD9]

Are you guys sure you don't know my son ?:laughing: I needed a good laugh today!

Your son isn't the only engineer around here you know! My wife swears all engineers think alike, and its driving her crazy.

 

[justincase123]

I think your wife may be right! Shoveling them out may be too easy and only costs $10 for the shovel. He, on the other hand needs 30K worth of power toys', and a mountain of calculations.

 

[BigD9]

I think your wife may be right! Shoveling them out may be too easy and only costs $10 for the shovel. He, on the other hand needs 30K worth of power toys', and a mountain of calculations.

You know what Tim The Toolman says "More Power!"

 

[justincase123]

Thanks a lot guys! He did get them out today after we rocked them back and forth a few times which probably saved the tractor. Whew!! Glad that's over! It's mowing season and we need the tractor. The pond was behind him, so if he had popped too much of a wheelie, I wouldn't have needed the rocks to catch the fish.