We are currently in the process of renovating an old church which has had issues with water in the basement. I'm looking to install drain tile around the perimeter of the inside of the basement, as we are unable to dig up the exterior. My plan is to cut the concrete about 14" in around the perimeter, then jackhammer the concrete between the cut line and the exterior concrete wall. This is so that we can put a membrane that runs down the inside of the concrete wall, over the footing to the edge of the footing to allow water that might work its way through the wall to run to the drainage system. What I'm wondering is, could the vibration from jackhammering the concrete above the footing compromise the footing? And if so, would there be a better method to remove this concrete? Any insight would be much appreciated!
Removing concrete from perimeter of basement floor
matt.martin.sk
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Do you have experience in construction, remodeling and renovation? You write, “My plan is to cut ….” Did you determine this was the only solution to the problem?
Did someone get a quote from a contractor, and you have determined you could do it yourself?
You mentioned that outside work is not an option? Is there proper slope around the exterior? Are the gutters and downspouts carrying the water away?
I have seen numerous basement water issues that were solved without cutting up slabs, excavation and patching exterior walls etc.
Did someone get a quote from a contractor, and you have determined you could do it yourself?
You mentioned that outside work is not an option? Is there proper slope around the exterior? Are the gutters and downspouts carrying the water away?
I have seen numerous basement water issues that were solved without cutting up slabs, excavation and patching exterior walls etc.
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This is exactly what we are hoping to do. Glad to see it was successful. Thanks for posting this!
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That's good advice! Fortunately, the drywall is being redone after we put in the drainage system.
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Carpentry for about 15 years now. Everything from foundation to finishing, but I have never done a job like this one.
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That's a great idea. Thanks!
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This is certainly good to consider. The church was built in the 40's. I'm not sure if they would have put a groove in the footing before pouring the walls. The basement floor is a little shy of 5' below grade, and the walls are close to 10" thick. Between that, the weight of the structure, and the backfill being clay (frozen about a foot deep), I don't believe there will be too much pressure on the walls. That said, I'll be cutting blocking to place tightly between the remaining concrete floor and the wall to counter any pressure that may exist.
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That's good to know! Haha, and I'm hoping to hire some younger labour before the day comes to haul concrete out.
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Thanks for your response. I am the contractor for this job. We live about 3 hours from the nearest city that offers this kind of service, so we are doing the job ourself. This particular task is new, but I've been in construction for about 15 years.
As of now, we've repaired all the downspouts and built up the grade to get proper slope on two sides of the property. The property line is only 3 feet from the back side of the building, so we'll be installing a french drain along the property line after spring thaw. There's a deck that needs to be removed along the front of the property to properly grade the front. We're going to be finishing the basement out this winter, so the drainage system we are installing is an added measure to prevent any water damage down the road.
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No. Rent an electric saw.
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That's great! Hopefully we'll have similar results. What type of tip did you use?
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If not done correctly, then you are constantly removing soil from underneath the slab. You need to have some type of filter fabric.
Don't start during the wet season.....
Fix gutters and surface drainage 1st!
Then just do basement in phases if walls need slab to structurally work.
I use a 13-18 hp floor saw . Cut two parallel cuts' one out of plumb to speed demo.
With care u could lift 400-600 pound chunks onto a handcart. Skip makings gravel.
Check out a national basement repair system with perimeter tin tile.
Fix gutters and surface drainage 1st!
Then just do basement in phases if walls need slab to structurally work.
I use a 13-18 hp floor saw . Cut two parallel cuts' one out of plumb to speed demo.
With care u could lift 400-600 pound chunks onto a handcart. Skip makings gravel.
Check out a national basement repair system with perimeter tin tile.
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You would need to create negative air pressure in the space, but we have run gas saws indoors with no issues.
In your situation I would setup ventilators anyway due to the dust created on the demo.
Catalytic converters are available for small internal combustion engines that reduce smog gas emissions of WARM engines that don't use oil.....
Electric will work, but slower...
Wet cut. Don't handle dry slurry......
Use plenty of washed rock under new crete and geo cloth for filter adjacent new tile.
Electric will work, but slower...
Wet cut. Don't handle dry slurry......
Use plenty of washed rock under new crete and geo cloth for filter adjacent new tile.
Air or electric. Propane makes it easy if you can get it in there. You won't likely find one to rent.
I wouldn't run gasoline equipment in a basement but to each his own. Definitely don't do it solo with gasoline, that's a good way to kill yourself. CO poisoning is insidious; you will begin making poor decisions and will likely not recognize that you are close to sitting down to take your last lunch break. Even with a buddy, the other guy will lose cognitive function so what good is that?
You can't have too much horsepower. Cutting by hand is tiring, might as well cut fast. Removing a bunch of rubble will not be fun. Digging will not be fun, nor will carrying out the buckets. If it's an old building, the substrate is probably junk rocks and garbage so you'll be hauling that out probably to get stone/sand in there.
![Image]()
With the walk behind, I can hydrate with Dunks while the saw does all the work.
This next one I cut by hand, with a 4 horsepower air saw, 7" max cut depth. Turned out there were three slabs, all stacked on top of each other, for nearly 10" total thickness. Old mill building.
![Image]()
Depending on how big this project is, might be a good candidate for hiring out.
If you're going to cut the perimeter and then try to drill/break, rent a rock drill and a ninety pound paving breaker. Drill a series of holes to segment off the size piece you'd like to remove, then put the point of the breaker in one of the holes, at an angle. It should break. You could just saw them and that would be faster but you'll need to overcut, even then it will need to be broken off on the wall side of the cut because the blade will not reach the bottom corner and you can't overcut that side even if you wanted to. So depends if overcuts are okay or not.
Beware the rock drill will be hungry for plumbing lines, they drill fast. If you can't handle 150 to 200 lb pieces using bars to remove, you might as well break it into rubble and put on gloves to take it all out by hand. Get the buckets.
![Image]()
I wouldn't run gasoline equipment in a basement but to each his own. Definitely don't do it solo with gasoline, that's a good way to kill yourself. CO poisoning is insidious; you will begin making poor decisions and will likely not recognize that you are close to sitting down to take your last lunch break. Even with a buddy, the other guy will lose cognitive function so what good is that?
You can't have too much horsepower. Cutting by hand is tiring, might as well cut fast. Removing a bunch of rubble will not be fun. Digging will not be fun, nor will carrying out the buckets. If it's an old building, the substrate is probably junk rocks and garbage so you'll be hauling that out probably to get stone/sand in there.
With the walk behind, I can hydrate with Dunks while the saw does all the work.
This next one I cut by hand, with a 4 horsepower air saw, 7" max cut depth. Turned out there were three slabs, all stacked on top of each other, for nearly 10" total thickness. Old mill building.
Depending on how big this project is, might be a good candidate for hiring out.
If you're going to cut the perimeter and then try to drill/break, rent a rock drill and a ninety pound paving breaker. Drill a series of holes to segment off the size piece you'd like to remove, then put the point of the breaker in one of the holes, at an angle. It should break. You could just saw them and that would be faster but you'll need to overcut, even then it will need to be broken off on the wall side of the cut because the blade will not reach the bottom corner and you can't overcut that side even if you wanted to. So depends if overcuts are okay or not.
Beware the rock drill will be hungry for plumbing lines, they drill fast. If you can't handle 150 to 200 lb pieces using bars to remove, you might as well break it into rubble and put on gloves to take it all out by hand. Get the buckets.
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