How to Break Rocks for Removal: A Step-by-Step Guide

Sometimes you just have to smash things

Photo: Александр Беспалый / Adobe Stock
Photo: Александр Беспалый / Adobe Stock
D.P. Taylor
Written by D.P. Taylor
Contributing Writer
Updated Dec 15, 2023
SKILL LEVEL
Simple
COMPLETION TIME
3 hours
COST
$0
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What you'll need:
TOOLS
  • Rotary hammer/hammer drill
  • Wedges
  • Feathers
  • Hammer
  • Metal digging bar

Plenty of homeowners choose to incorporate beautiful boulders into their landscape. But for many people, a massive rock in the yard gets in the way of frisbee games, garden plans, or hardscaping projects like patios and pools. If that’s your situation, you might be wondering if you can remove that big rock the DIY way. 

Good news—you can! Read on for our rock-solid guide on how to break up a large rock on your property.

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How to Break Up Large Rocks

The prep work for breaking up large rocks mostly includes gathering any tools you need (including heavy-duty tools like a jackhammer if need be) and clearing the area so you can work on the boulder safely and efficiently.

  1. Dig Around the Rock

    The first thing you’ll want to do is take a shovel and clear as much space around the rock as you possibly can. This will both help you determine how big of a rock you’re dealing with and give you the space you need to break up the rock. The more dirt around the rock you can clear, the easier this project will be once it comes time to start splitting it up.

  2. Drill a Series of Holes Into the Rock

    Next you’ll want to drill a series of holes throughout the surface of the rock using a rotary hammer. Dig as deep as you need to in order to fit the feathers and wedges. Make sure to blow the dust out of the holes once you’ve finished drilling each hole.

  3. Put Feathers and Wedges Into the Holes

    Insert a wedge sandwiched between two feathers into the hole, with the feathers facing outward. Tap this wedge with a hammer until it sets into place. The wedge will put pressure on the features and force them outward, which will crack the rock.

  4. Drive the Wedges in Until Cracks Form

    A man breaking a large rock with a hammer
    Photo: Francesco Scatena / EyeEm / EyeEm / Getty Images

    With your wedges firmly in place, take your hammer and pound at the wedges one at a time until cracks start to form. Keep pounding on the wedges until large pieces of the rock break off.

  5. Use a Digging Bar to Pry Out the Broken Rock

    Grab your long metal digging bar and use it to pry and break off any pieces that are still clinging to the main rock.

  6. Repeat as Necessary

    Keep repeating the steps above until you have broken up enough of the rock that you can remove all of it from the ground. You may have to do this several times depending on how large the rock is.

  7. Get Heavy Duty Tools for Larger Rocks

    Sometimes, the steps above aren’t enough to break up a rock if it is a large enough size. In that case, you’ll need to bring in the big guns, like a diesel-powered air compressor, a rock hammer, and a jackhammer. You’ll use the rock hammer connected to the air compressor to drill larger, deeper holes into the rock, and then you’ll use bigger wedges and the jackhammer to bust up the rock. This step may require a professional.

  8. Dispose of the Rock

    Now that you’ve broken up the rock, carefully place them into a wheelbarrow and take them away for disposal. Remember to lift with your legs, not your back, when disposing of rocks and other heavy debris.

DIY vs. Hiring a Pro

While this job doesn't necessarily require a professional, there are a lot of tools needed for the project that many homeowners don’t have. You can go out and buy the tools yourself, but if that doesn’t work and you need the heavier-duty tools described in Step 7, we recommend hiring a professional. Besides the expense of renting tools like this, there are also safety concerns for amateur DIYers who do not have experience with jackhammers. 

Contact a grading and hauling service near you for a consultation and a quote.

Cost to Hire a Pro

Land clearing costs $1,400 to $5,800 on average, but if you only have a few large rocks to get rid of, you can expect to pay less than that. Hiring a professional to clear large rocks costs $40 to $100 per cubic foot. They may even take care of the disposal, too, so check with your contractor when discussing the project.

Frequently Asked Questions

This is largely dependent on the size and hardness of the rock, but a range of tools might work, including hammers, chisels, rock hammers, sledge hammers, and more. You'll need a jackhammer for the very biggest rock-breaking jobs.

If you're looking to break up a stone slab or some landscaping stone, the process is very similar to breaking up a boulder, and may in fact be easier because it is easier to access and not as deeply buried into the ground.

It is possible, albeit a lot slower, to break up a rock using water. You would do this by freezing and thawing the water. You could create some initial holes or cracks in the rock, then pour water into the cracks or holes and allow them to freeze (so it's best to do this in winter or in colder climates). Since water expands when it freezes, this puts pressure on the inside of the rock and causes it to crack. You could continue to pour more water in and let it freeze to continue to break up the rock.

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Learn more about our contributor
D.P. Taylor
Written by D.P. Taylor
Contributing Writer
D.P. Taylor has a passion for helping businesses solve tough problems in their industry. He specializes in researching industry challenges and breaking them down in a way that is easy to digest while effectively solving the reader's issue.

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