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Posted by Robert Allison on June 23, 2005, 9:18 am
JRanieri wrote:
>
>>I am purchasing a home with a hot tub that I do not want. A friend is
>>taking the tub, but the 8' x 8' concrete slab will remain.
>>
>>Is there an easy way to break it up? Any suggestions?
>>
>
>
> Breaking an unreinforced slab is not difficult. You will need a large
> sledge, say 16 lb, and a long (at least 6') steel pry bar. Just whacking the
> slab on grade will be very difficult, the key is elevating it slightly off
> the ground. That's where the prybar comes in. Stick it under a corner, use a
> block of wood as a fulcrum and get it just an inch or two off grade. Have a
> helper cram a board under there to hold it up. Whack. One blow with the
> sledge will break it cleanly. The first break is the hardest - after that it
> goes quickly. If the slab has an existing crack or 2, so much the better.
>
> The most laborious part of the job is actually carting away the broken
> chunks. Okay, I just noticed your name is Marcy. If you're a 98 lb. woman -
> you might have a tough time getting enough leverage to elevate that slab.
> Just remember the words of Archimedes ( I think ), give me a long enough
> lever and I can move the world - or words to that effect. But what would he
> use as a fulcrum? But I digress...
>
>
The moon could be used as a fulcrum,...with a long enough
lever. But then we get into the motion induced. Relative to
each other, which would be moving? The earth or the moon or
(probably) both? Relative to the sun, you would probably see
both move, the moon having the greatest deviation from
original position, the earth lesser. But if you were to brace
the moon against say Jupiter, then you could probably just
move the earth with the moon as a fulcrum. Or why not just
use Jupiter as the fulcrum? Of course that would vastly
increase the length needed for the lever,...
--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX
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