Pole Removal Questions

[cowboymick]

1st question:

I have 2 BUD's to remove. One of them is still attached to the pole, and is lying on the ground, with the concrete still attached to the pole.
I wanted to salvage the pole.
Ideas on how to remove the majority of the concrete? Sledge hammer? etc...

2nd question:
The other bud in still in the ground, with several feet of concrete supporting it.
Tools and methods to cut it at the base? Angle grinder? etc...

I believe I will be ok with removing the mount from the pole, just not sure how to deal with the pole mounted in concrete.
Thanks in advance!!

 

[Anole]

1. I used a sledgehammer.

2. Tried a sawzall, but a cut-off wheel in a small hand-grinder was the best tool.

 

[FaT Air]

To remove the concrete from pole, I would try a hammer drill. series of holes, then rock splitting wedges.
To cut pole off flush with cement:
I tend to prefer a smoke wrench (cutting torch)over a sledge hammer, saw or angle grinder, any day.

 

[Dishman Dan]

If the pole that is out of the ground does not have a ton of concrete on it, use a backhoe or even a tractor to reset it in the ground and pour concrete around it to fill the voids. It would save a lot of time and money by not removing the concrete if possible for you to move it this way.

I have pulled poles with the concrete out of the ground with a tractor (200HP). I simply hook a chain with a sliphook around the pole and the 3 point hitch arms and lift it out of the ground. The neighbor said that his backhoe or mini excavator would not be able to "pluck" the pole out like the tractor does because of the weight. It would be time consuming and quite pricey to dig it with a backhoe and haul it on a truck. I even brought some poles home on the tractor but they were within 2 miles away from me. I admit that I reset only one pole so far but I have more "in stock" for future use. It has been surprising on how some installers years ago used so little concrete! The one that I set was a little too tall so I just burried it in the ground deeper and entombed it in lots of concrete! Good luck on who attempts to remove my pole!

The next poles I do this way I hope to take photos and post them here!

 

[signal.quest]

Do you think the pole can be pulled out by an SUV's tow hitch using a chain in 4WD low gear? I need to remove a pole from the ground and am trying to decide if it should be done by sledge hammer or SUV. Thanks.

 

[turbosat]

I'd be careful with the suv method, so it doesn't suddenly let go and whack your vehicle. You can dig around the pole a bit, then try pulling in the direction of your digging, it may lean and come right out. Then again, it might have a yard of concrete around it, so I'd try very carefully. Hope your ground is wetter than mine is , lol, or it'd never budge.

 

[Dishman Dan]

Do you think the pole can be pulled out by an SUV's tow hitch using a chain in 4WD low gear? I need to remove a pole from the ground and am trying to decide if it should be done by sledge hammer or SUV. Thanks.

Like Turbosat says - you could try digging around the pole. The tractor method that I use will pick the whole think straight up a few feet and then I drive ahead.

 

[cowboymick]

Thanks for the great advice!!!

Mick

 

[delta_charlie]

Hi, I recently used a sledge hammer to break the concrete of of a poll that was pulled out of the ground and it worked so well I think you might be able to break of some if not most of the concrete from the poll that is still in the ground by digging up the dirt on top then smashing the heck out of it.

Then you might try a post hole digger on the side of the concrete to loosen up the poll then pull it with the SUV. Or if the poll is not needed it could be cut just below the ground (provided the concrete does break or is below the ground level)

Later, DC

 

[gordonkearse]

Its amazing how well a sledge hammer will work on concrete. But if you're not moving it far, I agree with leaving the concrete on it and just pouring more. The extra concrete will make for a greater foundation.

I've welded two short poles together with good results, too! I sleeved them together to make sure they remained plumb.

See the results!!!

Happy satellite hunting.

 

[skysurfer]

i used a digging bar with a blunt end. After using a shovel to dig around the concrete a little bit, I used the bar to try to chip away at the concrete and it worked pretty well. There were some chips but after awhile, the vibrations of trying to chip away probably weakened the concrete and at the end, it started breaking up with large fractures and thus made large chunks.

 

[mick d]

I'm sweating just reading the posts. I'm moving mine as well but I can wait till it cools a bit because I have to get in the attic also and in Texas that is a big mistake this time of year! May not make it out!!!! Just dig around the concrete deep enough so that you can work the pole back and forth to loosen it then go to town with a sledge. May wanna wear some eye protection.