Removing paving slabs

Yazmina

Do you think I could get these slabs up with a crow bar and some effort? Or does the cement between them mean I'll need to pay a man with a machine? Thanks. 

greyteam1959

By the look of them they will come up with a spade or a crowbar dead easy.

marlot

I'd start with a lump hammer and bolster chisel.  But a crowbar should be fine.

Martin_the_Unjust

greyteam1959 said:

By the look of them they will come up with a spade or a crowbar dead easy.

......and a bit of effort.

Yazmina

Thanks. I should have also mentioned that I'd like to re-lay some of the slabs in a better pattern than they're in currently. Does that require some sort of special skill/knowledge? ? 

Martin_the_Unjust

https://www.marshalls.co.uk/gardens-and-driveways/blog/how-to-lay-a-patio

Yazmina

marlot said:

I'd start with a lump hammer and bolster chisel.  But a crowbar should be fine.

What size bolster chisel? 

ElephantBoy57

Yazmina said:

What size bolster chisel? 

Just use a spade to get under the slab.

Davesnave

A bolster like this one to weaken the joints, but gently:

https://www.toolstation.com/bolster-chisel/p36499

You'll need a club hammer too.

I'd then get to work with a suitable bar. Like a good heart, a nice one of those can be hard to find:

https://www.lapwinguk.com/products/100-72-all-steel-fencing-mushroom-digging-bar

...or you might get more leverage from the flat end of a mattock, another tool I'd not be without.

Yazmina

So hubby has got some of the slabs up with a hammer and chisel, but there's an additional layer of concrete underneath. I suggested he hire a pneumatic breaker, but he reckons that sort of thing is for professionals only. Is he right? 

Davesnave

Possibly and possibly not! Most of the concrete I've ever smashed has succumbed to a sledgehammer, but the front door step of the house I'm in now was well over a foot thick and needed something to chip it away. I bought one of these and I've used it for all sorts of breaking and chipping jobs since. You can get it with more accessories at a slightly higher price too:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb653sds-5-9kg-electric-sds-plus-drill-230-240v/6846h