Out With the Old, Cleanly
Sometimes the job is just removal. A crumbling patio you want to turn back into lawn. A shed slab in the way of a new project. An old driveway coming out before a fresh new installation. Whatever the reason, we break it out, haul it away, and leave the site clean and graded — ready for grass, landscaping, or the next phase of your project.
Demolition sounds simple until you have done it wrong once: cracked the neighbor's walk with a misplaced breaker, cut a utility line, or left a yard full of rubble and ruts. We locate utilities before we dig, protect what stays, and leave the ground in better shape than we found it.
How We Take It Out
- Saw-cut the edges. Clean cuts where the old concrete meets anything that stays — the garage floor, a remaining walk, the curb — so removal does not crack or chip the good stuff.
- Break it up. Mini excavators with breaker attachments for driveways and large slabs; handheld breakers for tight spots and interior work. The right size machine for the access you have.
- Haul it away. Rubble goes straight into the truck or dumpster, not into a pile in your side yard for a week. Most residential tear-outs are hauled the same day.
- Recycle it. Old concrete is crushed and reused as base material — road base, fill, new aggregate. It does not go to a landfill.
- Grade and clean up. We rough-grade the exposed ground, remove stray chunks and rebar, and leave the area ready for topsoil, sod, or the new pour.
What We Remove
Driveways and parking pads, patios and pool decks, walkways and stoops, shed and garage slabs, footings and small foundations, and old curbing. If it is concrete and you want it gone, we can almost certainly take it out. For jobs that pair removal with new concrete — like a driveway replacement or a new patio — the tear-out is priced as part of the whole project, which is usually cheaper than hiring it separately.
A note on access and HOAs
Heavy equipment needs a way in. We will look at your gate widths, slopes, and soft ground during the estimate and plan the machine size around them. In HOA neighborhoods like St. Charles, we also check community rules on work hours, street parking for trucks, and dumpster placement so the job does not create a violation.
Getting Ready for Demolition Day
A little prep makes the day go faster. Move cars, grills, and anything breakable well away from the work area — flying chips travel farther than you think. Mark sprinkler heads and invisible fence lines so we can work around them. If you have plantings you want to save near the slab, tell us during the estimate and we will protect or work around them. Unlock gates and keep pets inside; a breaker attachment is loud and the crew needs clear paths. We handle the rest: utility locates, equipment, hauling, and cleanup. Most homeowners are surprised how fast a slab disappears once the machines start.
What It Costs
Demolition is priced by square footage and thickness — a 6-inch commercial slab costs more to break and haul than a 4-inch patio. Most residential removals fall between $1,500 and $5,000 depending on size, thickness, access, and how far the haul is — your written quote after our visit is the real number. If new concrete is going back in, ask about bundling removal with the new pour.
Get It Torn Out
Fill out our contact form and tell us what needs to go — size, thickness if you know it, and what is happening with the space after. We'll come look, check access and utilities, and give you a written quote.