Removing rock from hole (<--help please)

House Repair Talk

Help Support House Repair Talk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

dgates12

Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2010
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Hello all -

I'm at the end of a project in my backyard. It consisted of digging a 4 ft hole, 8 inches wide; which I've done. Problem is, there is a rock in the very bottom which I cant seem to figure out how to get it out.

It's an oval shaped rock (approx 8"x10"). The hole is too deep for me to grab onto it. My breaker bar has a hard time making good contact with it since it has no flat surface, so I can't break it. And my post hold digger is too small to grab a hold of it.

Any suggestions?!? Thanks!!
 
LOL, good question. The only thing that comes to mind is to backfill the hole and dig in a different location.
 
You can try wetting the area around the rock with "hot water" to see if you can dig around it. Could you post a picture with a rule parallel to the rock?
 
Too deep to post a good pic with a ruler. I've gotten the rock loosened, I just can't figure out how to "pick-it-up".

Thanks.
 
Two suggestions...

1. Rent a rock drill to put a hole in it.

2. Hot melt a lifting eye pad on it. You know they do this to cars to pull out dents.
 
A small person, and hold their feet...or use a hoe like the rest of us. :D

This is always a hard thing to do, you just need to keep at it , and sometimes you have to dig the hole much wider. This is why we get the big bucks for jobs...the unknown.:)
 
How about a hoe? If you can't lift it directly, can you pull it over to the side of the hole?
 
Whats the hole for? How deep is it from grade to the rock? You may just be able to leave it there.
 
Why don't you give this a try. Take a tarp and place the edge of it by the rock, then take a hoe and pull the rock onto the tarp, then you can lift the rock out assuming it is loose.
 
Last edited:
I ran into the same situation on multiple occassions in my backyard.
I found that the rock was concrete from an old fence post that had been relocated.

There are (2) ways that I know of to get them out.

1. The Easy Way
Rent a Jack Hammer from your local tool rental center.
This will break up the rock very easily.

2. The Hard Way
Purchase a masonary chisel and sledge hammer.
I followed this method. The chisel I used has a rounded point.
This works great for breaking the rock apart until you can loosen it enough
to pull out. Sometimes wetting the hole a day or two before helps to loosen the dirt. Othertimes it makes a big mess and is better just working with the dry dirt. In any case it will usually take you a couple hours, but you will get the rock out.
 
If you can get something around it like a sling made of old belts or something, build a tri-pod with three 2x4s over the hole and use a come a long to lift it out
 
Back
Top