Removing a marble slab

13 years ago

I'm removing an old fireplace pedestal built in 1951. There is a large slab of marble, about 5 foot by 2 foot, laid in a bed of what seems like cement. I can get the end of a chisel bit on the rotary hammer under the edges, but can't get the slab free without chipping it.

The marble is in nice shape and I'd like to reuse it. Anyone know any tricks to try to get this slab freed?

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Comments (3)

homebound
13 years ago
Good question. I'm not sure, but I know that if it's marble (not granite), it's much more likely to break no matter what you do. And a tool that vibrates and hammers is a bad thing, also. You need something more gentle, but I'm not sure what.
texasredhead
13 years ago
I can almost guarantee that slab is glued down with a mastic. A very long shot would be to use a strong wire and use a sawing motion under the slab. Probably need two people with strong gloves. Suspect the cement was used to level the surface for the marble slab.
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ron6519
13 years ago
A marble slab put down in the '50's was not put down with mastic.
The likehood of you removing this in one piece is remote.
But this has been the opinion from other forums too.
Ron