Can anyone identify this?
mattgarden
Posts: 109
Hi, I was digging up and removing part of my raised patio yesterday.
Amongst the usual bricks, rubble, footings, etc, I came across this huge stone, which I reckon used to be a step.
It weighs so much that it took 2 of us to lift it up against the wall, but it's stuck there for now. Its about 5-6.inches thick and probably about a yard tall.
I think it is natural stone, but I'm no expert. My sledge hammer and sds chisel doesnt even touch it. Does anyone have any ideas what it might be?
.... Or what I can do with it? Its too heavy to get in the skip like the rest!
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Posts
Paint it black and have it in your border like a monolith
if its it’s a step there does not seem to be any wear from lots of use, I suspect you may find out if you unearth four more of ’em.
Looks like concrete to me, and may well have steel reinforcement inside. A line of holes drilled with your sds may be the only way to weaken it sufficiently to get a cold chisel in there. Good luck. Probably a day's work just to break it in half.
Ahh what a nightmare. I spent all day yesterday smashing up Concrete!
Think I'd find a way to integrate it in the garden somewhere. A plinth to sit pots on, or as a step(!), or as learnincurve said maybe as a monolith (postcrete it in) and plant something contrasting in front of it.
Wash it off & give it a bit of a scrub with an old stiff brush, especially that broken corner. If the texture looks like small crystals it will be granite. If it was a step & shows no wear that will confirm it. It's the same as they used for kerb stones in the past. It would be a shame to break it up, can you get hold of a proper strong sack barrow you could probably move it with that. If you really have to break it up get 2 lengths of stout timber ( old pieces of fence post would do) straddle it over the wood give it a hefty whack in the middle with a big sledge hammer it will break in 2 pieces.
Thank you. I'll give it a scrub and see what it looks like.
If you can scrub the side clean, I could probably tell you if it’s granite, being in the trade an all? looks like granite to me.
Whatever it turns out to be, as gardeners we can find a use for it, always on the look out for things like that,
If it’s granite you won’t break it up easily , do you live in a granite area?
No not that I'm aware of Lyn. The house was built in the 50s and it was well buried under a more modern patio. It looked like it could have been the bottom step. The others were concrete about an inch thick and broke up easily