Remove Anchors from Concrete Deck

Help Around the House : Episode ARH-264 -- More Projects »
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Home repair expert Henry Harrison shows a guest how to remove steel anchor brackets set in a concrete pool deck. He also helps smooth things over with a concrete patch. On his elbow grease scale of one to four, Harrison gives this job a three.

Tools:

workshop vacuum
grinder
drill
hand broom
large pry bar
small paintbrush
disposable putty knife
pliers
small pry bar
gripping pliers
sledgehammer
chisel
gloves
kneepads
face guard
dust mask
bonding liquid
concrete patch material

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Figure A
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Figure B
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Figure C
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Figure D
Steps:

1. Put on a face shield and start chipping away at the anchors with a pry bar. Use a hammer against the back of the pry bar to get up under the anchor plate (figure A). Pull up as much of the anchor plate as you can using the pry bar and pliers.

2. Now put on a dust mask and face shield and have at the bolt with the grinder (figure B). Have a friend hold a large piece of cardboard up as a shield to keep debris from flying into the pool, if necessary. Make sure your friend is wearing face protection, too.

3. If you need to remove more of the plate, drill into what's left of the plate (figure C) and then break away more of the plate using a hammer, chisel, pry bar and pliers (figure D).

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Figure E
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Figure F
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Figure G
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Figure H
4. Go back to the grinder and polish down the bolt until it's flush with the concrete deck (figure E).

5. Continue until all anchors and bolts are ground down. Next patch the concrete.

6. Clean up any debris using a workshop vacuum. Spread some bonding liquid around the area with a paintbrush (figure F). Let the bonding liquid dry about 15 minutes before applying ready-mix concrete patch material.

7. Use a disposable plastic putty knife to pack the patch material into the hole surrounding the bolt (figure G).

8. After the patch dries for a few minutes, crumple up a piece of plastic and dab the patch to create texture to match the surrounding deck (figure H).

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