Jackhammer advice - buy or hire?

Hi guys,

I am deciding whether or not to purchase a jackhammer for some jobs i need done around the house which include:

1: Removing 40sqm of slate
2: Removing tiles from ensuite
3: Removing tiles from bathroom
4: Removing tiles from laundry

Due to the timing of the jobs, it is probably 5 days of hiring a jackhammer, on separate days, @ about $120 per day.

Is it worthwhile hiring a jackhammer for 5 days or simply purchasing one?

I guess i need to ask myself the question can I purchase a decent jackhammer for the same price of hiring one for 5 days (about $600).

What your thoughts?

Cheers

 

Buy one, I bought mine for a reno can't remember what I paid but was like 200-300 and I've used it a lot. Way more then I expected.
Builder recommended it because it came with 3 years replacement warranty from bunnings was a cheap brand but still going after 6 years. If you are doing a bathroom kitchen reno be careful of asbestos.

 

Look having worked on construction sites and used all kinds of Jackhammers you will be best to just buy your own. For the cost of $500 you can get yourself a Jackhammer that will easily do the job!

Last job I was at there were stuff ups all the time. Sure we had big pneumatic hammers available sometimes but I was mainly left to use something similar to this. It was a Bosch combo hammer drill and Jack hammer.

I used this thing daily! From taking down columns (poured over height) to breaking up the wash out bins, pretty much all our concrete was 40MPa.

And I was using something extremely similar to this

http://www.bunnings.com.au/bosch-professional-1150w-5kg-demolition-impact-hammer_p6200185

This monster is way more powerful and under $500

http://www.bunnings.com.au/full-boar-1750w-heavy-duty-demolition-hammer-_p6290254

or something smaller and lighter will def do the job also as it is way more powerful than the Bosch.,

http://www.bunnings.com.au/full-boar-1500w-12kg-light-duty-demolition-hammer_p6290253

 

For removing tiles you don't need a huge jackhammer unless your wanting to remove the slab. A cheap rotary hammer drill with a wide chisel bit is fine.

http://www.bunnings.com.au/ozito-850w-rotary-hammer-drill-kit_p6290249

 

Thanks for the advice guys!

 

Silly question..

Provided I'm using the correct chisel head, is there much that can go wrong in terms of damaging the slab?

 

The brand was ozito but was bigger then what bargin hunter attached.

 

I didn't do any damage to the slabs i used it on. It just popped the tiles and tiled bed clean off the slab. Its pretty easy you wont have any trouble.

 

Does slate come off just as easy as tiles? The slate was probably put down about 30 years ago, so I'm not sure what type of adhesive was used.

 

I've never removed slate. Not issue with damaging slab if you set just below tiles and approach at say 30 degrees

 

I have only done a tiny bit of slate it was about 300mmx600mm. It came off easy but was really messy the slate sort of breaks off in flacks and falls appart. So not real sure on a large area how easy it would be.

 

I saw a few good deals of Ebay.. but most only come with 12 month warranty.. probably better buying something from Bunnings with a longer warranty as Bunnings will give you less issues if something goes wrong and you need to return it

 

Although I am leaning towards something like this:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/AUGERTON...00?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item35b68daf7c

 

It seems like you've convinced yourself, however consider the weight of the above and if you have wall tiles you'll probably end up with shoulders like king kong.

Bargain Hunter has given you the best advice.

 

Defiantly buy one. I hired one for 24 hours and it cost half the price of a new one.
Make sure you also buy glasses and ear protection, those things are loud.
You can always sell it later or loan it out to friends.

 

Is this deja vu ?

 

Is this deja vu ?

 

I hired a trolley mount jackhammer for removing 90sqm of floor tiles on a 30mm screed. Took 2 days as the screed was really adhered well the further back I went (aka tiler got lazier the longer the job went). I have bung shoulders otherwise I could have done it with a handheld, but I wouldnt have been able to move my arms for a week after.

 

Yeh, ill go down to Bunnings this evening and see which one is most comfortable (weight wise).

My only concern about getting a smaller jackhammer, like Bargain Hunter suggested, is whether it will cope with tougher jobs, such as trying to break up some cemented posts (which i forgot to mention in original post) as well as the ease of doing the jobs.

 

I got a rotary hammer from masters for under 100 bucks. Did a bathroom and kitchen of tile removal and some bricks that formed a built in bath and it is still going strong.