Technically this isn't home repair, but I'm looking for some advice on cutting down a basketball hoop pole. The backboard broke off years ago so I got a nine foot steel pole in three feet of cement. The main problem is the pole is filled with cement too. Short of digging it out, I'd like to somehow just cut it off flush at ground level. Any suggestions on how to do this? Thanks for any advice.
Buy or rent an angle grinder, and a stack of cutoff wheels? Still probably won't be flush, though.
I'd clip the top off and mount a bird feeder or bird house on it.
aem sends...
Take a chisel that's about half an inch wide. Chisel the concrete around where it meets the steel down at a 45 degree angle, but not too deep.
You want to be able to get down there with a torch or a grinder and cut it off slightly under the surface of the concrete. Fill with Pour Stone or equivalent. A cutting torch would be the best thing to use over a grinder.
Steve
Convince the police that there are diamonds in the pole. They'll do it for you.
Hire a 9 1/4 inch angle grinder. Buy two or three metal cutting disks. About two or three inches up, cut almost all around the base leaving a couple of inches or so on, at the side where you want the pole to fall. Shift your grinder, lead and kids out of the way and push the pole over. The bit left on, may or may not break when it falls, but at least you get it down without it jamming on your blade or falling on you or the dog. I say a few inches up, cos you will probably get through without there being any concrete there. After chip around as Steve says, inside and out and cut again just below the surface. Patch hole with 4 to 1 sand / cement. If you get water pissing out when you make your first cut(old pipe not sealed at top) pull away, let it drain then cut off the pipe a bit higher than water. Mop it out and carry on. Oxy torch is good for a lot of cutting like this, but a bit of a pain for a one off.
Easier to convince them thaT drugs are hidden there ;)
I picked up a VERY similar angle grinder from Sears at about TWICE the price.
The abrasive wheel is quite up to grinding down both steel and CONCRETE.
If you want to get the whole mess out clean, here's what any farm boy would do: get a post jack like the $37 Harbor Freight model, and a short stout chain with a slip hook. Attach chain to post and jack. Block the jack with an 8 x 8 or similar so it doesn't sink in the ground. Operate handle and watch how 3 tons of pressure will motate the post and cement plug upward. Move chain as necessary and continue until post assembly becomes horizontal. Odds are you can find something like this rig at a tool rental place if you'd rather not buy one. Works every time. HTH
Joe
A pipe cutter could probably get it to within an inch of the concrete at the ground. Cut through the pipe, then bend it over to break the concrete inside. A sledge hammer on the remaining part may break it up/bend the pipe down some. A cutting torch could get it flush. A skid loader could probably work it all out of the ground in a half hour or so.
replying to R Rockwell, Tiffany Brown wrote: I have the same problem. Have you came up with any solutions?
replying to R Rockwell, Tiffany Brown wrote: I have the same problem. Have you came up with any solutions?
Are you sure the pole is actually filled with cement, as opposed to just being set in cement? It would be rather odd for it to be filled with cement, unless they used a lally column. If it's just a pipe, it can be cut with a reciprocating saw. I had one of those, I wound up just leaving it there for 20 years, it eventually rusted out at ground level and fell down on it's own.
Is the concrete pad exposed? If so, mound dirt around it and plant grass.
The electronegativity of steel is different if it's in contact with dirt as opposed to concrete. That will create a potential difference that will quickly rust through the steel and it will fall.
That's why those old clothesline posts all fail the same way.
Of course you're going to wait a couple of years, but that's easy.
As I posted earlier, that's what happened with mine, but it took 20 years for the steel to rust away even though it was in the ground.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.