DIY? - cantilever deck removal

[crosjn]

We have a mid70's concrete IG pool with the old-school cantilever deck. It's cracking all the way around the pool, badly in spots. So I need to cut out the cantilever deck about 12" back from the pool. Is this a DIY job? I can rent concrete saws at HD. But I however have no experience cutting concrete. Pool is shaped like a classic racetrack. It's about 100ft around the perimeter.

Specific Questions
1) How do you cut inside radius corners? From the looks of it, I can cut the outside corners at 90 degees and then grind them to round off the corner. But both ends of the pool are gentle arcs and the steps have sharp inside radius corners. How do you cut that with a straight saw. (I know just enough from wood working to know that cutting bends with a circular saw is not a good idea!)
2) The deck has heaved 2" to 3" in places, it's really bad in spots. Is there a chance/danger of the cut decking collapsing in on the saw and causing kickback? That's the part that scares me the most.

Is this a job for a pro? (it HURTS to just say that but perhaps, in the words of Clint Eastwood - "A man's got to know his limitations."

Jeff

 

[ConcreteJack]

Do you mind uploading a photo? Concrete saws tend not to kick back much, but it is really easy to trap a blade in the concrete if you're not careful, and it can involve burning the blade out of the concrete with a torch if it's really stuck.

No matter what you do, always cut wet. Make sure that the saw has a working water hose connection and keep it running the entire time you're cutting. Blades are expensive, but last more than 5 times as long if you cut wet as opposed to cutting dry. It's also much easier to breathe around a wet saw.

 

[JasonLion]

Using a concrete saw for hours on end, which is what cutting all the way around the pool is going to involve, is a big job that calls for some serious muscles that most people don't have. I have no problem cutting a couple of feet with a concrete saw, but there is no way I could hold a saw for long enough to get all the way around the pool in any reasonable amount of time, let alone do the curves.

When they put in decorative pavers around my pool, which used to have a cantilever deck, they cut the curves without any problems in one pass with a 14" circular saw. I remember thinking that I was really glad I wasn't trying to do that myself.

Here is a picture. Keep in mind that my deck is a good three inches thick and it took him 2/3rds of a day standing like that, slowly working his way around the pool.

 

[Marauder]

Now that looks like a FUN job!

 

[36racin]

Unless it a stand up concrete cutter you will be there along time. A hand held one will beat you to death. If it were me I would remove all of it all the way to the pool. It just isn't going to look right with old concrete and new concrete butting up to each other. I'd rent a small excavator with a concrete breaker and break it all up. Then remove the concrete chunks using the bucket and a debris grapple. Any way you go it's labor intensive.

 

[duraleigh]

Listen carefully to these guys. masonry work is the most physically demanding kind of work there is.

Demolitioning a decking and replacing it is perhaps as physically demanding as it gets.

I would suggest you get a concrete man to fix it for you.

 

[Divin Dave]

After my patio and deck was poured, I cut my own control joints with a skill saw and 8 inch diamond blade. The joints are only a inch deep, and it took several hours just to cut about 100 ft of straight lines. Sawing concrete is not for the faint of heart. Just that was rough on me, but then Im not a spring rooster anymore either!

The thought of sawing all the way through and around the whole perimiter, although I am confident I could eventually get it done, is not appealing. At.All.

 

[Casey]

Just a heads up that this thread is dated from June 2011.

 

[Divin Dave]

I noticed that early this morning. Thats why I let someone else post first before I said anything !!!

 

[36racin]

That's funny I only look at quick links and todays post. And browse from there. Post #4 was from 2011 and post #5(me) is 2014. If it was suppose to be todays post(yesterday that is) then how was a 2011 thread there??

 

[JasonLion]

There was a post right before you responded that was subsequently removed for being off topic.