UKC

I have a partially paved area in the back garden with concrete slabs about 1 - 1.5m in length, about 50cm in width and 5cm thick.

This morning, using a crowbar to lift and slide I moved one so that it was resting in the same plane on an adjacent slab. This was to enable me to dig out some soil to lower the said slab as it had been about 1.5cm proud of the adjacent ones

I don't know how much the slab weighs but it is too heavy to lift(I've got nobody to "share" the lift.

Before I re-lay it I shall be putting down a bed of sharp sand to create a level surface for it.

I'd now appreciate any ideas as to how to re-lay the slab. Ideally it needs to be "dropped" fair and square into position without any edges or corners digging into the sand bedding. I think any attempt to slide it back could result in an edge digging in to the sand. Any (sensible) suggestions appreciated.

Thanks

In reply to Removed UserBoingBoing:

Cover the sharp sand in a layer of ice cubes, push the slab onto those and then let them gradually melt away, thus gradually lowering the slab into position. You're welcome. 

In reply to Thugitty Jugitty:

Sounds brilliant; if I can get enough ice cubes

In reply to Removed UserBoingBoing:

Offer the neighbour/paperboy/postman a beer and get them to help?

In reply to Removed UserBoingBoing:

So Mrs BoingBoing has gone away?

In reply to Removed UserBoingBoing:

Use a weak sharp sand / cement mix of about 8:1. Put 6 or 8 large blobs on the ground about twice as thick as the bed and covering about 40% of the area.

Put two battens across the space, slide the slab across these and then gently remove from each end.

Tap the slab down to the desired level. 

(The ice trick works for stone-stone connections but they will probably just dig into the sand. You can also use a bag of sugar and a hosepipe)

In reply to Removed UserBoingBoing:

Could you buy some wooden round fence posts which are longer than the gap in the narrowest direction, and slide it across with those and fiddle them out from under it again?

In reply to Removed UserBoingBoing:

Go to the Dagoba system and find an old Jedi called Yoda, he will teach you in the ways of the force. Don't ever think it's too big, size matters not!

In reply to Removed UserBoingBoing:

You can move anything with a big enough lever. 

In reply to Thugitty Jugitty:

When Western society breaks down into Mad Max-esque nightmare, you will be one of the survivors.  

 

In reply to Removed UserBoingBoing:

You can calculate its weight, concrete is around 2200 to 2300 kg per m3:

Using  the sizes you have measured, although accuracy seems lacking, we can say that you have a 1.5 m x 0.5 m  x 0.05 m slab so 0.0375 m3 (if I have calculated it correctly) of concrete and hence 0.0375 x 2300= 86  kg of concrete. May be you can move it with some mates.

In reply to Removed UserBoingBoing:

If you can't lift it with your mates it is because of one or a mixture of three things: 1. your mates are wimps or insufficient mates, 2. The slab is a different shape and not a slab, 3. I have mucked up in the calculations.

In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:

... providing you have a place to stand

In reply to Removed UserBoingBoing:

Get some of that flat nylon tape, they put around large boxes. Put that down in both directions  (across and length ways). When you put your slab down, and it needs adjusting you can lift it using the tape. (Wrap each end around a piece of wood to form a handle.) When its in the correct place, you can pull the tape through.

I found, when laying an area of paving, is that you get the slabs level as you go. One placement wont be level. So you move it, using a lever and adjust the bedding. Repeat until level. But in doing so, you end up messing up the ones you've done.  

In reply to Removed UserBoingBoing:

 

Wait till the winter, gives you a bit more time to plan things too

 

In reply to Removed UserBoingBoing:

Turn it a bit so it won't fall down the gap, slide it over the gap, carefully turn it so that it falls into the gap, straighten up with crowbar if it's not quite straight?

In reply to Dago theruinmargalef:

Isn't that just a heavy rucksack?

 

In reply to Removed UserBoingBoing:

The ice cubes idea is great - wish I'd used that when doing the same thing before! I ended up using some 240v cable I had lying around. Stripped the insulation so I had two thin metal wires. I used these (with a helper) to hoist the slab into position and lower it into the hole. The wires then pulled out without too much drama (wear thick gloves!).

There must be a decent bit of clearance around the slab for you to get a crowbar in there without damaging anything.

In reply to Removed UserBoingBoing:

ALL DONE Careful use of crowbars, a few strips of timber and determination.

Single handed too

In reply to Removed UserBoingBoing:

I had a similar problem when laying a huge stone slab in a fireplace. I ended up sliding it in on wooden runners then withdrawing the runners so that it dropped onto the sand & cement mix. I felt like an ancient Egyptian builder!

In reply to Rigid Raider:

Whatever turns you on!

 

In reply to Rigid Raider: I carried a large stone slab, and surprised my strong builder friend, and then felt an ache in my back an hour later for the rest of the afternoon. It's always good to be careful. 

 

In reply to Removed UserBoingBoing:

You may have the muscular strength for a short effort but are the joints up to the challenge? I'm sure this is the reason why so many athletes injure themselves as they grow stronger - they fail to appreciate that joints and bones take much longer to react to stress than muscle.