wall demolition

[patrick78]

Was wandering if there are solvents to "soften" mortar to help remove brick wall? I work late and neighbors have complained about noise, so anything to lessen the effort to bring down would be appreciated.

 

[joecaption]

There is no magic way to do this.
Tell us more, there may be a faster way to get it over with.
Pictures are always nice.

 

[JoeD]

There is no magic juice to loosen mortar. A hammer and chisel or small breaker/ electric chisel is best. How large a wall? Maybe a sledge hammer is best. Once you get it started it usually comes down quick.

 

[BridgeMan]

A method that would generate a lot less noise would involve drilling holes in the rows of mortar, I'm guessing every 3rd or 4th course. Then filling the holes with expanding hydraulic cement slurry (such as S-Mite, made by Sumitomo Cement, Ltd.) and temporarily plugging them. I'd suggest locating the holes at junctions of horizontal and vertical mortar joints, enabling the holes to be as large as possible. S-Mite will do the work for you, and the only sound it makes is a dull thud as it breaks the bricks free, raising them from the courses below. The foregoing would allow you to haul off the resulting clumps of still-mortared bricks to a remote location, and breaking them free from each other manually.

 

[CallMeVilla]

I just finished taking down a block wall filled with concrete and rebar. This is no job for a weenie .... This is the essence of demolition: NOISE, RUBBLE, DUST, BRUTE FORCE. Your best approach is to schedule the time in cooperation with your neighbors and bring maximum violence to the wall in a short timeframe. Like pulling a tooth, do it fast to reduce the agony.

Get someone to help you. Use an electric chipper, sledge hammer, angle grinder with a diamond blade and a metal cut off blade (for the rebar). This is a man-up moment and a contest between you and the wall ... who wins?