Bricks, Masonry, Asphalt and Concrete - How to remove section of concrete patio

Hello,

I have a concrete patio behind my home. I want a wall of passion flowers on the wall that the patio butts up to, so I'm considering ways to remove some of the patio to access the soil beneath. I'd like to remove a 3 foot strip along the house and leave the rest (till a future date anyway).

Patio section next to house spans about 14 feet. Concrete pad looks to be about 2 (possibly 3) inches deep.

So I'm assuming I should mark a straight line across patio as a guide. Then can I use a demo hammer with a one of those flat bits on the end to keep the line at least slightly straight. Or cut first along line with a saw? The cut line does not have to be perfect since I'll be covering it with landscaping bricks for a slightly raised bed.

Any suggestions for this partial concrete patio removal would be greatly appreciated. :)

Thanks.
~Leah

Use a skill saw with a diamond blade to score the line down about 1/2 inch first, then you will have a clean edge.

ditto on what Tscarborough said, except you can probably cut all the way through. Diamond blades are awesome and not that expensive.

Bud

You definitely need to go down more than 1/2 inch if you want it to break on your saw cut. It's best to cut all the way through, but you need to go at least 2/3 or 3/4 of the way through anyway, then you can break it out with a sledge hammer or jackhammer without it cracking out into the rest of the patio. Your patio may only be 2 inches on the edge, but there's a very good possibility it's 4 inches as soon as you get a couple inches past the edge. Good luck.