Best tool to break up ice on my driveway?

[Phokus]

I was able to clear half the ice on my driveway, but there's a big section where the snow melted and the water came down the driveway and collected there and it's almost an inch of rock hard ice there now. I tried smashing it with my shovel but i bent the shovel and don't want to damage it anymore... I'm thinking of picking up a sledge hammer at home depot or something.

Or is there something better that i could use?

 

[blackdogdeek]

rock salt + time (and then shovel)

 

[Phokus]

rock salt + time (and then shovel)

Eh... i was thinking of using salt, but that's going to take too long. The ice is seriously thick and hard as a rock.

 

[MiniDoom]

flame thrower

 

[joesmoke]

hair dryer

 

[gw186]

Maybe a http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1tTN-b5KHg will work..

 

[isekii]

Eh... i was thinking of using salt, but that's going to take too long. The ice is seriously thick and hard as a rock.

Water hose + Faucet + Hot water

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

This ought to do it.

 

[blackdogdeek]

you could try throwing a huge pot of boiling water on it and THEN the shovel

 

[busydude]

You can break the ice easily.. if you pour some hot water on it.

 

[Anubis]

pour some kerosene on it and light a match

 

[vi edit]

One of those big paint scraper on a stick things they use to chip tile off of floors with.

 

[bignateyk]

Get a digging bar/iron or a sledge hammer.

Disclaimer: you might wreck your driveway doing this

 

[joesmoke]

from anecdotal evidence ive received i would have to say a tuning fork would be your best bet

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Illegal aliens.

 

[Phokus]

Hmmm, after all these replies, i think i'm going to go with a multi-step approach:

dump a ton of salt to remove a layer of the ice, then dump multiple pots of boiling water and then use the shovel. That HAS to work, right?

 

[Drako]

Scuffle Hoe

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

 

[blackdogdeek]

Hmmm, after all these replies, i think i'm going to go with a multi-step approach:

dump a ton of salt to remove a layer of the ice, then dump multiple pots of boiling water and then use the shovel. That HAS to work, right?

yes.

and the final step, should this method somehow fail to remove the ice:

nuke it from orbit

 

[Possessed Freak]

Obligatory: Oil and Kitty Litter

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Hmmm, after all these replies, i think i'm going to go with a multi-step approach:

dump a ton of salt to remove a layer of the ice, then dump multiple pots of boiling water and then use the shovel. That HAS to work, right?

Plus, it has the added bonus of killing all the weeds, grass or, anything that grows in the Spring!

 

[classy]

Just get some fine ground salt, put it down, and the next day the ice will easliy be able to be scraped up with a snow shovel.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I was able to clear half the ice on my driveway, but there's a big section where the snow melted and the water came down the driveway and collected there and it's almost an inch of rock hard ice there now. I tried smashing it with my shovel but i bent the shovel and don't want to damage it anymore... I'm thinking of picking up a sledge hammer at home depot or something.

Or is there something better that i could use?

You might try to lay down some of the deicing crystals (NOT pure salt) to melt and weaken it first.

 

[John P]

When I lived in Kansas we had a couple of "ice breaker" tools. Basically a long shovel handle with a large steel scraper at the bottom, maybe 6"-8" wide. I don't know if they still make them any more? The only thing I see in the hardware stores here in WA that looks anything like it is the edging tools - the ice breaker looks similar except it's straight at the edge instead of curved. They work great on smooth driveway surfaces, probably wouldn't work well on aggregate driveways.

Looks similar to this but with straight edge: http://www.lowes.com/pd_99259-302-1812100_4294857246+5003720_4294937087

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Hmmm, after all these replies, i think i'm going to go with a multi-step approach:

dump a ton of salt to remove a layer of the ice, then dump multiple pots of boiling water and then use the shovel. That HAS to work, right?

I've heard that rock salt can pit concrete driveways, so I avoid it and use the "synthetic" stuff.

 

[Phokus]

I've heard that rock salt can pit concrete driveways, so I avoid it and use the "synthetic" stuff.

Damn, i think i've been using rock salt mostly. Thanks for letting me know.