Breaking freakishly thick concrete...

[Wood_workur]

Our driveway is about 14" thick in some parts, it all varies, but the thickness is not consistent because it was never installed right. It was just pored over the dirt.

Anyways, if I were to want to remove it, I know that either a skid steer or a backhoe with a hydraulic hammer, but how powerful would that have to be?

And would the cost of removing it yourself (which would be the tool rental for a weekend plus the dump trucks to get it all out of there) preparing the site properly and having the pros pour the concrete be more cost effective than having the pros tear it up and then pouring properly?

[cabinetman]

I would contract the whole job out.
.

[Tom Slick]

I agree with cabinetman and it is what I did when I redid my driveway. The price was comparable when all DIY costs were considered. You'll have to haul it away and at 14" thick that little trailer from the rental shop is going to haul it one piece at a time.
My driveway was 14'x30' by 4-8" thick and it filled a dump truck completely. It was cracked so the operator was able to break it into smaller pieces then pick it up with the hoe/bucket and load it into the truck. IIRC it cost less than $400.

If you are set on doing it yourself then look into something like
http://www.crackamite.com/ or http://www.archerusa.com/ but think about how many holes you'll have to drill.

[cgallery]

Not to hijack the thread, but can 14" concrete be broken with wedges? The kind one uses for granite?

[Tom Slick]

Not to hijack the thread, but can 14" concrete be broken with wedges? The kind one uses for granite?

but how much work makes it worth it? a driveway is a lot of wedge pounding.

[cgallery]

but how much work makes it worth it? a driveway is a lot of wedge pounding.

No, I was talking about a separate (smaller) project. I just wasn't sure if wedges worked well in concrete or not?

[Tom Slick]

I think most stone busting techniques will work in concrete unless its got rebar.

[gjat]

The wedges probably won't work in concrete. Concrete will probably spall around the wedge and prevent it creating enough load to crack it.

14" concrete can be broken up with any sort of jackhammer (bigger than 40#)or demo hammer on a skid steer. You can usually haul it to a concrete recycling center without a disposal fee. They grind it up and use the aggregate for other things.

I'd do it for myself, but I have free access to everything I need. An air compressor and hammer is probably going to cost about $200 / day. A skidsteer and trailer another couple of hundred. What would take a regualr operator a half a day, would probably take you two days. You can also make a **** of a mess with a skid. It's hard to grade and smooth with them, even for many experienced operators.

It's more likely the people who would replace the concrete could do it for much cheaper because they would have some equipment there to grade it anyways.

[smorris]

This will get 'er done. Albeit noisy.

[Pappy]

The section of damaged sidewalk my son and I busted out and removed when I poured the ramp at the front door was only 4' x 6-7'. About as thick as your drive. Hire it out!

[crokett]

Hire it out as part of the repaving. They will do the demo cheaper than they would if you were just hiring out the demo because a lot of the equipment will be the same for both jobs.

[herb fellows]

14 inches will put a hurt on you! Definitely hire it out.

[Wood_workur]

This will get 'er done. Albeit noisy.

I'd like to keep the house.

[AZDude]

Well, if you want some experience on a skid steer with a hydraulic breaker, feel free to come over this weekend. I am working on about a 75'x100' area of my yard - removing large veins of granite and lava rock.

Using the skid steer is actually very easy and does not jar much at all. In my yard, I am using a bobcat 753 and going down about 12-14" with not much problem. Out here in AZ, a skid steer and breaker would cost you $300 - $400 for a weekend and another $150 -$200 for a 5yd. dump truck. The rental store would get you the right size skid steer and attachment for you.

A concrete contractor can also remove it for you, grade, and then pour for you. Just get a price for removal, and one for the grade and concrete work. Then you can compare costs.

Ohh, when I was getting a bid for my yard to remove the rock with a small excavator and breaker attachment, the guy quoted me $175 /hr. Yes you read that right - $175/hr. That figure did not include the $100/trip for the dump truck to haul away. So I chose to do it myself. Hope all my ramblings help.

Brent