20080426 Patio Paver Preparation
Breaking up the caliche.
I rented an electric jack hammer to remove the old concrete step and caliche. The caliche layer looks like leftover cement that was poured on the ground and left to harden. It is actually a calcium carbonate layer from either sea bed sediment or calcuim leached from the surrounding rock by rain and deposited in the lower (desert) areas. The calcium settles and hardens around existing rocks such as granite rubble with varying degrees of hardness.
20080426 Patio Paver Preparation
Breaking up the caliche.
I rented an electric jack hammer to remove the old concrete step and caliche. The caliche layer looks like leftover cement that was poured on the ground and left to harden. It is actually a calcium carbonate layer from either sea bed sediment or calcuim leached from the surrounding rock by rain and deposited in the lower (desert) areas. The calcium settles and hardens around existing rocks such as granite rubble with varying degrees of hardness.