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I have a small stream behind my house that is lined with granite rocks, some quite large. These rocks shift from time-to-time, especially after a torrential rain storm, and have to be repositioned. I can move the small rocks myself, but have to hire an excavator to move the large ones.

I would like to break up the large rocks so that I can move them myself. I realize a jackhammer would be the best tool, but because this is an on-going project I need to buy rather than rent the tool, and I don't want to buy a jackhammer.

My question is this: can I use a rotary hammer to break up large (up to 3 foot diameter) rocks? The video demonstrations I have seen show rotary hammers in action against concrete or small pieces of rock, not large ones. I haven't encountered a salesman who can give me a credible answer one way or the other.

Hup

I think it's highly unlikely that you'll be able to break up rocks of that size by anything that's hand-held. Discuss it with your excavator guy before his next trip out.

Thanks for this advice.

I didn't bother posting this question to the trumpet forum. Somehow I knew this would be the right place to ask about breaking rocks.

Hup

I've actually tried this and it won't work. You can't drill enough holes in the rock to actually get them to break. Way too much work for you, and you'll go through so many bits it would be cheaper to rent a jack hammer several times and you'll waste much less of your time.

I live in an area of the country where in order to have a basement a homeowner has to have bedrock excavated. Ask some local building contractors who excavates basements, and get bids to have your boulders drilled and crushed for you. Because of the physical stress the vibration of working the tools can impart, I just wouldn't take the risk to bones and joints if you're not used to it.

How much of the resulting fill will you continue to need to bank your stream? If you don't need it all, and there is a significant amount left over, there is a possibility that you could trade some of the fill out for part of cost of the job, or at least have it hauled away for free to excavator's next job site that might need fill.