Lead Pipe 4, Mongo 0
There's a pipe in the back yard sticking up about a foot or so. Just high enough to trip up a toddler, especially one who's not looking where he's going. So with the warm weather, it seemed like a good candidate for outdoor projects.
I started digging around it (we'll give an assist to the various roots in the way including to the former shrub with its 2 inch thick ones). I went down about 2 feet and it looks like it goes much farther than that. I have tried whacking it with a 10 lb sledge hammer. I have quite a bit of play and can spin it around 180 degrees but only lift it about an inch.
After consulting with my father in law who is just as stumped as I am, I tried water to loosen the soil in the attempt to pull the pipe up. All I did was make mud with super suction powers which filled in all of the space I created with the pick and sledge hammer.
OK fine removal is not an option without a major excavation project (which I am reluctant to do since that would take me too close to the tree roots (the tree is about 150 years old and it stays). So I figured I would cut it below ground level and fill in the hole and call it done. Hacksaw time. I found a remarkable device for taking the teeth off of a hacksaw blade. Meanwhile the pipe laughed at me.
OK time for power tools. I have a Dremmel with a cutting disk. So out I go with that. Except there's no charge on the battery. So I am charging batteries and resting in the mean time.
If this doesn't work, I'm getting a cutting disk for my drill at the hardware store.
I started digging around it (we'll give an assist to the various roots in the way including to the former shrub with its 2 inch thick ones). I went down about 2 feet and it looks like it goes much farther than that. I have tried whacking it with a 10 lb sledge hammer. I have quite a bit of play and can spin it around 180 degrees but only lift it about an inch.
After consulting with my father in law who is just as stumped as I am, I tried water to loosen the soil in the attempt to pull the pipe up. All I did was make mud with super suction powers which filled in all of the space I created with the pick and sledge hammer.
OK fine removal is not an option without a major excavation project (which I am reluctant to do since that would take me too close to the tree roots (the tree is about 150 years old and it stays). So I figured I would cut it below ground level and fill in the hole and call it done. Hacksaw time. I found a remarkable device for taking the teeth off of a hacksaw blade. Meanwhile the pipe laughed at me.
OK time for power tools. I have a Dremmel with a cutting disk. So out I go with that. Except there's no charge on the battery. So I am charging batteries and resting in the mean time.
If this doesn't work, I'm getting a cutting disk for my drill at the hardware store.