cutting a hole in concrete

[barrell]

I just bought a house in Florida and it has a realy nice pool in the backyard surounded by a fence but they concreted the entire yard. I want to cut some holes in the pad to plant some small palm trees and other plants around the pool. I know the right tool is a cutoff saw with 12 inch diamond blade but I dont want to buy one for this one job. Im thinking of drilling some holes at the corners with my hammer drill and then using cheap masonary blades to cut down 1/2 inch or so. Then I thought I could break cleanly with a masonary chisel and maul. I might end of doing some serious damage though. Anybody got any ideas?

[capesams]

I'd drill one hole to see how thick the pad is and then plan my attack from there.

[theweatherguy]

Originally Posted by barrell

I just bought a house in Florida and it has a realy nice pool in the backyard surounded by a fence but they concreted the entire yard. I want to cut some holes in the pad to plant some small palm trees and other plants around the pool. I know the right tool is a cutoff saw with 12 inch diamond blade but I dont want to buy one for this one job. Im thinking of drilling some holes at the corners with my hammer drill and then using cheap masonary blades to cut down 1/2 inch or so. Then I thought I could break cleanly with a masonary chisel and maul. I might end of doing some serious damage though. Anybody got any ideas?

You can rent a cutoff saw for a day. Unsally it the cost of the saw plus useage of the saw blade. I cut 3 areas of some concret in the back yard cost was about 75 dollars for the day.

[go_speedracer_go]

That concrete is probably 4" thick. Anything less than a concrete wet saw will turn a simple job into a nightmare.

[ted527]

rent a wet saw or hire someone to do it.

trying to hack through concrete that probably has wire in it with a chisel will look hacked.

[midocean]

You could expect a concrete pad to be about 4 to 6 inches thick. One way to to cut a hole is to use a hammer drill with a 1/2" to 3/4" bit and drill a series of holes in the shape you want then use a sledge hammer to break it up. Or, as previously mentioned, rent a cutoff saw with a diamond blade for about $60 a day and cut it out...a lot neater job.

[barrell]

Here is the pic of the pool. There is more concrete to the left between the house and the pool you cant see. I havent been down there yet to look at the house I bought. Im going Sunday morning with the boat. From the pics Im starting to lean toward pulling the fence back away from the pad and planting the perimeter to get the jungle feel Im looking for around the pool. The waterfront side is going to get stainless cable fence so the veiw of the water is not impeded as it is now.
The mangroves visible behind the house are the beggining edge of a 2500 acre state park that is suposed to be a kayak fishermens heaven. Ive heard the shallow water that makes up the park is void of power boats but full of redfish,tarpon,snook,and specks.

[Ravioli]

I would not cut anything. Pot your plants and small trees.

[DougH]

I agree, that job around the pool just looks too nice to start cutting holes in it.

Where in Florida, the view looks awesome, congrats!

[c4charlie]

Originally Posted by barrell

Here is the pic of the pool. There is more concrete to the left between the house and the pool you cant see. I havent been down there yet to look at the house I bought. Im going Sunday morning with the boat. From the pics Im starting to lean toward pulling the fence back away from the pad and planting the perimeter to get the jungle feel Im looking for around the pool. The waterfront side is going to get stainless cable fence so the veiw of the water is not impeded as it is now.
The mangroves visible behind the house are the beggining edge of a 2500 acre state park that is suposed to be a kayak fishermens heaven. Ive heard the shallow water that makes up the park is void of power boats but full of redfish,tarpon,snook,and specks.

Barrell, Sounds and looks like a wonderful place. Wish you the best!

Seems like the issue is you want some near pool vegetation and the fence is the end of the property line. Instead of cutting, you could always go up with a planter/planting bed of some sort for what you need. Planters are another option.

If you do decide to cut, a Partner cut off saw would work great. Some of the models have the choice if you want to cut wet or dry. Dry makes a lot of dust.

[Wraith]

Originally Posted by Ravioli

I would not cut anything. Pot your plants and small trees.

I'll second that one. You can get some real nice 'Tree' size Pots. A side benefit is the ability to move them to change the location of the 'Shade' they provide.

[barrell]

Originally Posted by Wraith

I'll second that one. You can get some real nice 'Tree' size Pots. A side benefit is the ability to move them to change the location of the 'Shade' they provide.

When we are there in the winter that would work for samll plants but Im wanting to plant a dozen 40 foot palm trees around the perimeter. I can buy 12 fot queen palms right now from a nursery for $30 a piece. They grow 5 feet per year. When we have the place up for rent in spring/summer/fall I cant excpect the tenants to water the potted plants. I also want to plant all kinds of flowering plants in the foreground. It looks like we are going to move the side fence 48 feet away to the property line. This will give me a lot more room to work with and it should take a few years to get er done. The side yards now are worthless as they are outside the fence. The fence facing the water I will pull out and build a stainless cable fence to allow an unubstructed view of the water. A freind who looked at the house for me before I bought it saw 40 pound snook cruising the canal. I want to be able to see those bad boys from inside the house when Im having my coffee in the morning.
The house s on North Hutchinson island in the middle of the east coast. The beach is only 150 yards away and the fort pierce inlet is only 1/2 mile away. The shallow bays right behind the house get very little fishing preasure and are suposed to be loaded with snook, tarpon, refish ,and specks. The hobie kayaks are going on the first trip down with the boat and Im leaving them there for renters to use.

[Montana_Mac]

Just a couple of thoughts

If you move the fence 48' away will they make you put a safety fence around the pool?

You don't want to plant to much tall stuff close to the pool or you will be paying the pool guy to come over and pull all of the crap from the plants out of the pool.

[barrell]

Originally Posted by Montana_Mac

Just a couple of thoughts

If you move the fence 48' away will they make you put a safety fence around the pool?

You don't want to plant to much tall stuff close to the pool or you will be paying the pool guy to come over and pull all of the crap from the plants out of the pool.

No as long as the fence is continous and has self closing gates it counts as protecting the pool form children. I am going to be the pool cleaner so I will be keepeng plants like palm trees at a distance. The screen porches keep the pools spotless and count legaly as a fence but in hurricanes they all get ripped apart and the insurance wont cover screen houses. About 6 grand to cover the pool with a screen enclosure.

[Magic Mike]

Originally Posted by barrell

I just bought a house in Florida and it has a realy nice pool in the backyard surounded by a fence but they concreted the entire yard. I want to cut some holes in the pad to plant some small palm trees and other plants around the pool. I know the right tool is a cutoff saw with 12 inch diamond blade but I dont want to buy one for this one job. Im thinking of drilling some holes at the corners with my hammer drill and then using cheap masonary blades to cut down 1/2 inch or so. Then I thought I could break cleanly with a masonary chisel and maul. I might end of doing some serious damage though. Anybody got any ideas?

Rented a wet saw from a local tool rental place, I set it and it did all the work. I cut 4" holes as deep as 12 inches in some areas. I too intalled a fence around a pool