How to move the impossible rock

[Rice Rider]

In the quest of creating a level building site for my new shop I came across a mammoth rock that most likely weighs 2 or three times more than my tractor. It measures about 9' x 8' and was from 30" to 40" thick depending on the end you were looking at. It was about 6 foot higher than grade and it had to come down and be removed due to our local code that has a 15 foot setback. I under cut the dirt and rock beneath it about 4 feet and then built up an earth ramp along the side of it. I broke it free by pulling the outside corner of the stone and it slid down the slope into the under cut area. I rented a hammer drill and a 1.5 inch, 24 long bit. After drilling 11 holes around 21 inches deep, I mixed up some Dexpan, http://www.dexpan.com/nonexplosivesblastingdemolition/product_dexpandemolitionagent.html[/URL] filled the holes in the late afternoon. When I got up the next morning I now had three big rocks that were still very large, but manageable enough to drag into position to be used for the retaining wall. I'll take some photos next week-end before moving them across the pad site.

 

[radioman]

Any pictures!!?? how much was the dexpan ?

 

[wedge40]

Can't wait to see the photos. Hope you have before and after shots. I wonder if hydraulic cement would do the same as the dexpan. I've seen this stuff before and would love to watch it work. Anybody care to guess the weight of this "stone".



Wedge

 

[alltoys]

I too have monster rocks to be moved and my little Montana is smaller than these behemoths. How hard was it to drill the holes in the Rock?

 

[Rice Rider]

The Dexpan was just at a hundred bucks. There are 4-11 pound bags in each case. I figure that each bag makes enough to fill 220"s of 1.5 inch hole. I used a rental Whacker hammer drill with a 24 inch long 1.5 inch bit. My only problem with drilling was to keep the drill at the same angle as the hole I was drilling. When the rock came down the hill it came to rest at about a 45 degree angle so I had to stand at an angle in order to keep the drill straight. If the drill binds, it could easily rotate around and break your ribs etc. It is important to get as much rock dust out of the holes so the Dexpan can work correctly. I used a shop vac with some one inch hose taped to the larger 2.5 inch shop vac hose and it worked wel. My generator provided me with power in this remote location. It took about 3.5 - 4 hours to drill the holes and it was not hard as long as you can keep the bit centered in the hole.

 

[LBrown59]

I'll take some photos next week-end before moving them across the pad site.

Any pictures!!??

......

 

[Rice Rider]

The pictures will have to wait till next Monday as I am over 250 miles from my property and only get to play on most week-ends. If you want to see what Dexpan will do to rocks even bigger than mine, go to their site and check it out.

 

[newbury]

Controlled Demolition, Selective Demolition, Concrete Demolition by Dexpan Non Explosive Controlled Demolition Agent .

linky

 

[Cat_Driver]

You can buy wedges. Drill holes pound in a wedge and the rock will break in half. Then break that in half etc.


Hand Drilling and Breaking Rock, 8423-2602-MTDC, Breaking Rock

Feathers & Wedges (Pieces and Sets) - Feathers & Wedges

 

[2manyrocks]

This was exciting until I read the "nonexplosive part" and that kind of ruined it for me.

 

[westcliffe01]

We had a lesson in the engineering corps where a granite bolder over 8ft x 4ft x 2ft was brought in and one platoon after another was told to "have at it" and get it "removed" within 8 hours. Only hand tools allowed. After 2 days of blood sweat and tears (and there was quite a bit of blood from granite chips flying around) activity had kind of ground to a halt and most people had given up after trying the "brute force" method.

A few of us tried a completely different tactic. We took small hammers and inspected the rock for natural flaws. We then started tapping on the edges of natural flaws, which all rocks have. Didn't take 2 minutes and a piece the size of a brick seperated. We just kept following the line of the flaws and within about 4 hours we had the rock reduced to carriable size pieces. Drilling granite without real rock drilling equipment is out of the question and in our case was not an option. The area we were in had lots of sandstone and it offers a lot of different possibilities. A 0.50 browning would make short work of some sandstone...

The key thing is that generally the brute force methods are neither safe nor a good idea and totally unnecersary. Never heard of the product that was mentioned here but I think if you have a granite boulder those holes will be a problem..

 

[Rice Rider]

Splitting a giant rock by hand sounds cool and green, but when it all comes down to for me is time. I only get two full days (depending on the mountain weather) and eight hours of driving every week-end. I just don't have time to beat on rocks to break them down to a manageable size that I can move with my Kubota. There is just too much to do in the limited time I have.

 

[DELInstallations]

feathers and wedges are faster than dexpan, a few hits with a sledge and chisel, or hilti and no waiting.

 

[westcliffe01]

Don't misinterpret my comments to be condecending. You knew about that cool product and was able to drill the rock. You got the job done, kudos to you. If one of the 2 hadn't worked out, you would have had to explore other avenues.

 

[radioman]

No problem OP. We can wait for the pics and I heard about dexpan,but never knew about the cost. For the price of dexpan, it may be expensive, but no blasting permits needed which is a nice thing. It can be used anywhere pretty much right ?

 

[cowboy357]

Thanks for the info on dexpan Rice Rider , interesting site they have . I know this is off topic, & sounds stupid . but I was curious if that stuff would work on tree stumps , where it would be easier to get them out in smaller chunks . Looking forward to the pics. Bob

 

[Rice Rider]

Cowboy, I think the wood (unless old and very hard) would absorb the pressure the Dexpan creates. After looking at the cross section of the hole, it does not appear that the Dexpan expands that much. On both breaks, the fissure followed directly through the center of each hole leaving a perfect cross section to view. Good news is that the wife went up to the property last night so she will get some pictures. My fun begins when I get to move them this week-end.

 

[two_bit_score]

Cowboy, I think the wood (unless old and very hard) would absorb the pressure the Dexpan creates. After looking at the cross section of the hole, it does not appear that the Dexpan expands that much. On both breaks, the fissure followed directly through the center of each hole leaving a perfect cross section to view. Good news is that the wife went up to the property last night so she will get some pictures. My fun begins when I get to move them this week-end.

Good job. Good luck. Good thread.

Looking forward to the pics.

 

[horse7]

feathers and wedges are faster than dexpan, a few hits with a sledge and chisel, or hilti and no waiting.

This is the method I'm using to reduce many rocks too big to reasonably easily move, but not gigantic. I try to get the resulting pieces suitable for use in stone walls, not just a pile of shards only good for back fill-- doesn't take that much more effort.

The method is similar to Dexpan so far as using expansive force to split the rock: drill a string of holes, put in the feathers, then the wedges, wack with a hammer... gratification is more nearly instant and no waiting for the next day to move the pieces. One down side is that there aren't too many places that sell feathers and wedges, lots of places claim to until you actually want to BUY some.

If I had something really big to break up, or wanted a slab off a face, the Dexpan seems like a better solution.

 

[cowboy357]

Cowboy, I think the wood (unless old and very hard) would absorb the pressure the Dexpan creates. After looking at the cross section of the hole, it does not appear that the Dexpan expands that much. On both breaks, the fissure followed directly through the center of each hole leaving a perfect cross section to view. Good news is that the wife went up to the property last night so she will get some pictures. My fun begins when I get to move them this week-end.

Yep , Makes sense Rice Rider Thanks , Kind of what I thought , never hurts to wish though . Bob