Stan in Oly, WA
Well-known Member
There is a job I have to do which I have been avoiding for years. There is a small area in the most inaccessible part of the crawlspace under my house which has no access. It is enclosed by concrete walls on every side. It is under a bathroom and it has both supply and drain plumbing in it. My basement garage is about 40" below grade and there is a place in the garage where I can open a wall which is on top of the house foundation and look into the inaccessible space between the ends of 2X10 floor joists. I always thought I would cut through a different concrete foundation wall in the crawlspace to get access to the area, but that would be a nightmare. Because of furnace ducting down the middle of the crawlspace, getting to the place I need to work means crawling 25' in the opposite direction, then 50' down the other side and another 25' across. Imagine having to low crawl 100' with equipment to bore or cut through a concrete wall, and then having to do the work lying on your stomach. Now imagine doing it when you're old and tired.
Recently it dawned on me that I can cut through the foundation wall in the basement garage to get into that space. It's eight inches thick and it was poured in about 1950. I could get through an opening 24" wide and 16" high, but it might as well be at least two feet by two feet. There's no advantage to skimping. I think I have to remove the concrete without disturbing it too much, like by bashing it with a sledge hammer. I can't think of a way to support the floor joists above that space before I get into it. What should I use to cut through the concrete?
Stan
Recently it dawned on me that I can cut through the foundation wall in the basement garage to get into that space. It's eight inches thick and it was poured in about 1950. I could get through an opening 24" wide and 16" high, but it might as well be at least two feet by two feet. There's no advantage to skimping. I think I have to remove the concrete without disturbing it too much, like by bashing it with a sledge hammer. I can't think of a way to support the floor joists above that space before I get into it. What should I use to cut through the concrete?
Stan