Put in a new mailbox post last Saturday and it took me 4 hours to dig the old one out

I figured I'd swap out my old rusty mailbox post in about an hour. The ground was so hard I broke two shovel handles trying to get the old concrete base out. Ended up having to soak the dirt with a hose for 20 minutes and use a pickaxe to chip away at it. My neighbor walked over and laughed saying he spent a whole day on his a few years back. Has anyone else fought with a concrete embedded post that just would not budge?

2 comments

2 Comments

robinson.jake1mo ago

Take another look at that ground before you blame the shovel. Compacted soil and old concrete anchors are actually easier to remove if you drill some holes in the concrete first and pour vinegar in them to weaken the bond. Most people just hack away with a pickaxe and end up wasting hours when a little planning would have saved the sweat.

cameron_chen1mo ago

Tried that vinegar trick once after watching a YouTube video, @robinson.jake, and honestly it worked way better than I expected. I was dealing with an old concrete post anchor that had been buried for years, and after drilling a few small holes and pouring white vinegar in, I let it sit for maybe 20 minutes. The concrete started crumbling apart almost like wet sand when I took a chisel to it. Definitely beats swinging a pickaxe until your arms feel like jelly. Just make sure you give the vinegar enough time to soak in, especially if the concrete is thick or compacted tight.