OK, this is probably a dumb question, but I'll ask it anyway... :)
I've got an 8x12 shed that I need to move that is currently bolted to a concrete slab. My plan is to brace the shed inside, unbolt it from the slab, jack it up, and bolt wood "runners" underneath. I'll be renting a bobcat in the next couple of months for some excavation work, so I thought I would try using that to drag the shed to it's new location.
Anyway, I'm curious about the slab. It's 8'x12' by about 6" thick (no footings). It has no reinforcement of any kind. Is there any chance that this could be pushed or pulled to the new location too without it cracking into pieces? I know there is a full yard of concrete in the slab. Any idea how much that weighs?
I've just assumed I would bust up the slab and bury it, but if I can relocate that too, why not reuse it?
OK, if it is 8' x 12' and 6" thick it is closer to two cubic yards, one yard would give you only 3" thick. Unless it is heavily re-inforced, I doubt you could move it without breaking, providing you can get a grip on it to push or pull it. Also the bottom would most likely be very rough and cause too much drag to get it to slide.
For the next one make the bottom of very smoothly raked sand, form two runners along each long side with the ends tapering up, like a sleigh. It should be at least 6" thick with the runners about a foot deep. Cover in sheet polyethylene to make it slick. Put in lots of steel rods and anchor a couple of eye bolts on each end, tied into the steel rods. Then "possibly" you could move it if you could get enough traction.
Actually, you have nearly two yards of concrete there: 8' x 12' x 1/2' = 48 cu ft = 1.77 cu yd. Figure around 150 lb/cu ft, so you're getting close to four tons. Dunno what you're planning on using to drag it... but I don't think a
About 150# per cubic foot as I recall or about 2 tons per CUBIC yard. You have about 2 cubic yards so the total weight will be about 4 tons. If not reinforced, it will certainly break up with any reasonable attempt to move it. SJF
I doubt it, I tried something similar at work a few years ago, I attempted to move a slab like that with a forklift, I did get it lifted in one piece ( working very gently) but when I was traveling with it I hit a small bump and the slab broke into a bunch of little pieces. Since pushing or pulling would undoubtedly be rougher treatment than carefully lifting and carrying it, I doubt you will have any luck. Of course..if your going bust it anyway..why not try to move it first?
I didn't take the time to calculate what is there. I poured the slab about
15 years ago using 2x6's for forms. But, I know it took exactly one yard of concrete. So, I must have dug down a bit deeper around the perimeter for footings or something.
Yeah, that's kind of what I figured. It was just a wild idea anyway... :)
That actually might work to my advantage trying to break it up into pieces I can move and bury in a hole I need fill. If it doesn't break just trying to lift it up, maybe I can stick some rocks under it and drive the bobcat over it to crack it up? Otherwise I'll have to rent a jackhammer.
If I'm able to move the shed, I'll probably just build a wood floor underneath. It'll just be used to store firewood and stuff in. Nothing of any real value.
I bet if you can get some steel cable, chain or even big rope under the edges you can rig a bridle and drag that sucker anywhere. Just backdrag a "road" with the backhoe.
For what it's worth, I did something similar on a smaller scale and wasn't really pleased with the results. I needed to take out a sidewalk with pieces about 2.5' by 5'. I cut them with a saw and moved them with a small tractor. ...wanted to simply piece them back together to put some implements on at the rear of my property. ...never gave much thought to what the concrete pieces looked like on the underside. ...extremely rough to the point that the pieces wouldn't really sit very flat at the new location. They are somewhat adequate for the purpose I am using them for, but for the amount of work that this was, if I had to do things again I would have simply threw the pieces away and poured a small slab instead. Concrete is only about $50 to $100 / yard so putting in a new pad won't be that expensive. By the way, I was able to pick up my small pieces with the tractor's loader, if I would have drug them, the rough underside would have caught on the ground, made a major mess, and caused a huge amount of drag. By contrast, however, I am currently pouring small sections of a driveway a bit at a time - I have a 4' x 5' x
3.5"deep rectangle form with a plywood bottom that I have ready for left-over concrete. Because the bottom is very smooth, I'm able to drag the thing after the concrete cures fairly easy with my small tractor. The smaller sidewalk sections that were poured on the ground as is typical are too rought on the bottom for the same tractor to pull.
If you think that the bottom is much flatter than mine and you still want to try, you might think about first drilling some holes in the slab at an angle and using concrete epoxy to embed some rebar bent into a loop into two holes. This can be used to pull the slab. After it sets up, you could lift one part of the slab and place a long section of pipe under it perpendicular to the direction you intend to go. Then lift the other end and again put a pipe under it and under the middle. Place a few more pipes in front of the slab. As you pull the slab, it will roll off of the rearmost pipe and onto the pipe in front of the slab. Take the pipes that were uncovered at the rear, and reposition them to the front and repeat as necessary until you roll the slab to its new location.
Concrete will break up fairly (hah!) easily using just a sledge hammer if you can lift one edge so there is a bit of strain on the slab. repeated blows with the hammer in a line across the slab is the trick. I have taken out several sidewalks and a concrete foundation that way. WEAR SAFETY GLASSES.
you could possibly raise and move the entire structure, shed and slab, if they're attached to each other, or move just the slab:
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(look at "Raising and Moving the Structure" on the left, under the category "Methods and Techniques")
given the size, though, it woudn't be economically feasible (concrete is cheap)
if you don't pour a new slab to put the relocated shed on, consider a gravel base to put the new floor on if it is on grade, the gravel will help drainage
also might want to disassemble the shed partially (down to separate walls, etc.) if moving it with the bobcat is too shaky
other good advise in this thread about partially raising an area of the slab to put strain on it then busting it up with a sledge hammer (or maybe then driving the bobcat over it)
if you had a concrete saw available at little or no expense you coudl also cut it up into smaller pieces and use it as stepping stones or some other landscaping or building material
on a previous topic, am still working on engineering the cathedral ceiling, used your suggestion for adding plywood gussets, went ahead and nailed some on both sides of the old rafter/new rafters for structural integrity, am now working on getting the insulation and ceiling in, as time allows
have 11" of airspace now (was 4") between underside of roof decking and what will be new ceiling, to add insulation and a radiant barrier in, looking at wool insulation, or possibly cellulose or sprayed in soybean foam (either which would require their own contained cavity for the radiant barrier to work, so will probably go with wool, it has fire retardant added and is also environmentally friendly like the cellulose or soybean foam)
Us old farmers never waste old concrete. You might be able to saw it
6 pieces (4x4 ft each) then get some nice round fenceposts and roll it on them (keep adding a post ahead of it. However, that is a lot of work and screwing around. However, if you break it up, use the pieces for your new slab. Put down some gravel. Put up your forms, and put the pieces of old concrete in the forms about one and a half inches below the surface. Always leave spaces between the pieces. Wet it down real well with the hose and jump around an all the pieces to push them tightly into the gravel. Now rent or borrow yourself a drum mixer and mix some concrete using portland cement, sand and a FINE stone (3/4" and less). Mix the stuff and pour it over the chunks of old concrete, and work it into the spaces between the chunks of old concrete. (Be sure the old stuff is a little wet, and clean, so hose it again, right before pouring the new cement over it). Trowel it out as usual. You'll make an extremely strong slab this way, and it will be much thicker than usual. I have done this for years, and besides busted concrete, I put rocks on the bottom, busted up concrete blocks and bricks, etc. Be sure to make your new cement a little stronger (more portland) that usual, because you are also "gluing" those pieces together.
I had an old garage that I rebuilt the walls and roof. When I was done I had a nice garage on top of a crappy floor. The rear part of the floor was ok, but the front was all cracked and rough, and a section had settled. One day I started busting up the bad part of it, where it had settled. I just tore out a 6 ft. area, stacked all the old cement, dug out some of the dirt underneath, and put the pieces back. I put some forms on the sides where I planned to bust out more, and poured the new cement over the top. When that was hard, I busted out another section and did that one, etc.
Eventually I replaced the whole front section, and left the rear. Its held up just fine.
More than likely I'll just bust up the old slab into pieces that I can move easily. I have a large hole on one end of our property that I need to fill and level the area for a future small barn. I've got lots of bolders, broken concrete pieces, etc. that are littering up the place and would make good fill. So, I'm essentially accomplishing two things at once (cleaning and filling). Any stones or concrete I can put in that hole will reduce the amount of fill I need to bring it up to grade.
If it's 8x12x.5' then that's 48 cuft, or around 7200 pounds. If it's really a cubic yard, then that's 27cuft, or about 4000 pounds.
You could TRY moving it, but I'm a bit skeptical of your chances of success. Get four 2-ton bottle jacks, and dig them in under one edge. slowly crank them up all together, until either the edge has lifted enough to shove a rail under, or the slab breaks up. If the former, repeat on the other side. If the latter, it was too brittle, anyway.
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