Breaking Out / remove excavated material from site

This is the term applied to the removal of material from. the excavations which requires the use of equipment other than pick and shovel. These materials are defined in SMM7 as:

1. Rock
2. Concrete
3. Reinforced concrete
4. Brickwork, block work or stonework
5. Coated macadam or asphalt

It is important to note that it is relatively easier to break out any of these materials if they have been laid down in a thin layer say up to 300 mm thick. It is possible to come across rock in such layers, although there are usually several such layers interleaved with softer material; nevertheless, these are easier to remove. Hand tools such as pick and shovel are of little use against concrete, high quality brickwork or bituminous macadam. A compressor and pneumatic drills are required to break up these materials, whether in hulk or in layers. The hire cost of a compressor and drills or even of electrically powered hammer drills is so low that wedges and hammers are falling out of use.

Once broken up, the material may be loaded for disposal with either a hand shovel or a machine. Outputs and multipliers for excavation in earlier tables reflect the use of appropriate mechanical means of breaking out difficult materials. Generally this means using a compressor with two drills equipped with suitable points. It should be noted that the outputs for hand or machine loading for disposal, while being very different from each other, will not vary much from material to material. In addition, these materials will all bulk up by 33 to 50 per cent. Breaking out with explosives is such a rare occurrence in building works, and so specialized, that it has not been included.