Deck over old concrete slab - bolt or concrete post anchors?

All the time is in the preparation, and this shows in the finish. Start smashing and digging.

Cut and dig for sure. Mark it out and hire a quick cut saw. It will go through 70 mm like butter. Only thing to remember is that you will have to go past your cutting marks for the corners. No biggy but catches a few people out.

or pay a bobcat $100/hr (or 6t excavator similar cost) for 2hrs (good operator) and he can get rid of that thing you call a slab alltogether and auger your holes for you. If you hire a demo saw to cut the concrete your looking at $80 + a day to dig the holes, I'd rather spend $200 on the bobcat and $45 on a carton watching him do all the work.

I must admit I'm a big fan of watching other people do the hard yards, specially digging holes. + 2 for the excavator.

Originally Posted by Ashore

Depends on the concrete pad , thickness reo etc.
I just finished a steel frame deck and bolted it down . It was over the footprint of an earlier garage so the slab was reinforced 100mm thick and 150mm at the edges.
Remember the weight of the deck is concentrates through the posts , so if the dech weighs 2 ton and there are 10 support posts then each post bears 100 kg , not that much on a 100mm steel post , but if the pad its going on is only 75 mm thick without reo then you may have a problem

look at his picture mate. I'd be worried sitting a full stubbie on top of it without doing damage

That slab looks like it could be cracked up and picked up in handle-able sized pieces. I agree with excavate and auger for holes while you watch and drink beer or maybe ask if you can have a play with the machinery (not with beer tho)