Breaking bricks into hardcore..
Discussion
Starting my garden renovation and I've ripped down an old pillar which has resulted in a lot more bricks than I expected. I have 3 hippo bags full.
Also for the new patio/astro lawn I am going to need a sub base. It seems crazy to pay to have the bricks taken away and then pay for MOT/hardcore to be delivered.
It seems concrete crushers are about £150 to hire and do about 6 tonnes per hour which is over kill! Is there a middle ground? Would chucking them in a cement mixer work? Or would a sledgehammer munch through them quite quickly??
Also for the new patio/astro lawn I am going to need a sub base. It seems crazy to pay to have the bricks taken away and then pay for MOT/hardcore to be delivered.
It seems concrete crushers are about £150 to hire and do about 6 tonnes per hour which is over kill! Is there a middle ground? Would chucking them in a cement mixer work? Or would a sledgehammer munch through them quite quickly??
dojo said:
Would chucking them in a cement mixer work?
During my days as a hod we used to use bricks in the cement mixer to clean it out at the end of the day. At most the mixer would chip the corners off but never break the bricks. A sledgehammer would work but there will be chips flying everywhere, so messy & dangerous.Hmm... Guess I'll look into a crusher then!i was planning on sticking a wheelbarrow load in a large rubble sack before hitting them with a hammer! If I could do it in a day it would be worth it ££ wise... But Yh crusher is looking likely !
Edited by dojo on Tuesday 19th July 08:14
Edited by dojo on Tuesday 19th July 08:15
Crush 3 hippo bags full of bricks in a day using a sledgehammer? 
Bloody hell, how expensive is hardcore around your area?!
Advert on Gumtree for "free bricks on collection" - trust me, your phone will ring off the hook.
Local builder merchant, hand over £55 and get a tonne delivered.
Don't make it harder than it has to be.
Bloody hell, how expensive is hardcore around your area?!
Advert on Gumtree for "free bricks on collection" - trust me, your phone will ring off the hook.
Local builder merchant, hand over £55 and get a tonne delivered.
Don't make it harder than it has to be.
ikarl said:
Crush 3 hippo bags full of bricks in a day using a sledgehammer?
Bloody hell, how expensive is hardcore around your area?!
Advert on Gumtree for "free bricks on collection" - trust me, your phone will ring off the hook.
Local builder merchant, hand over £55 and get a tonne delivered.
Don't make it harder than it has to be.
Give the gumtree thing a go, put the word free in the title and in the freebies sectionBloody hell, how expensive is hardcore around your area?!
Advert on Gumtree for "free bricks on collection" - trust me, your phone will ring off the hook.
Local builder merchant, hand over £55 and get a tonne delivered.
Don't make it harder than it has to be.
I get rid of most stuff this way
dojo said:
Hmm... Guess I'll look into a crusher then!i was planning on sticking a wheelbarrow load in a large rubble sack before hitting them with a hammer! If I could do it in a day it would be worth it ££ wise... But Yh crusher is looking likely !
I'm guessing you already realised to break them where your going to use them obviously , will this take much longer than getting the mot to where your using it or can you drop it directly on the work area ? Are the bricks already where your working , it may be just as quick to break them in situ rather than dispose of them and barrow the mot .Edited by dojo on Tuesday 19th July 08:14
Edited by dojo on Tuesday 19th July 08:15
Three bags is not that many really. I'd say try a few with a hammer and bolster but make sure you break them into at least 4 bits. If you can't cope with it yourself then i'm sure a local laborer would do it for fifty quid.
Obviously you'd still need to buy 'infill' and hire a wacker plate.
Obviously you'd still need to buy 'infill' and hire a wacker plate.
Just smash them up with a decent hammer, you won't even need a sledgehammer if the mortar's not too solid. Should take you about an hour to break up a few bags of bricks into lumps small enough to flatten out for hardcore.
Or just tip all the bricks into the hardcore area, spread them out, and then go mental for 15 mins to smash down anything that sticks up too high.
Use some aggregate afterwards to fill in any dips or holes left.
Or just tip all the bricks into the hardcore area, spread them out, and then go mental for 15 mins to smash down anything that sticks up too high.
Use some aggregate afterwards to fill in any dips or holes left.I smashed up a load of bricks for a hardcore base recently, doesn't take very long. Just put one end on another brick, couple of whacks with a decent sized club hammer and they'll explode. If the bits aren't small enough, whack 'em again, once the brick is broken they'll smash up easily.
I did do mine in sections but it didn't take long.
I did do mine in sections but it didn't take long.
Years ago when funds were tight I smashed up loads of bricks in situ for my garage base using a light sledge hammer
and a pick axe with a straight point on the end. No probs.
Only when Toby, the neighbours tortoise, crawled over the rubble and camouflaged himself as a brick. Can you visualise the rest?
and a pick axe with a straight point on the end. No probs.
Only when Toby, the neighbours tortoise, crawled over the rubble and camouflaged himself as a brick. Can you visualise the rest?
Mr GrimNasty said:
I wouldn't even bother breaking them up, just bury them, spread them out flat and cover/infill with sub base.
http://www.pavingexpert.com/faq_subbase.htm
Link to a site i think you have used in the past? but to be honest it wouldn't bother me either
dickymint said:
Mr GrimNasty said:
I wouldn't even bother breaking them up, just bury them, spread them out flat and cover/infill with sub base.
http://www.pavingexpert.com/faq_subbase.htm
Link to a site i think you have used in the past? but to be honest it wouldn't bother me either
Mr GrimNasty said:
dickymint said:
Mr GrimNasty said:
I wouldn't even bother breaking them up, just bury them, spread them out flat and cover/infill with sub base.
http://www.pavingexpert.com/faq_subbase.htm
Link to a site i think you have used in the past? but to be honest it wouldn't bother me either
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