When concrete needs to come out
Cracking, heaving, settling, and spalling are the four signals. In Oklahoma City, clay soil movement is the driver behind most of them. A driveway that was poured without adequate base preparation rides the soil up and down through wet-dry cycles until it cracks. A patio slab next to a foundation can heave upward when the clay underneath expands after a wet season and push water toward the house instead of away from it. When the damage is structural rather than cosmetic, patching is a temporary measure and replacement is the real fix.
What gets broken up
- Driveways (residential and commercial)
- Sidewalks and walkways
- Patio slabs
- Foundation remnants from old structures
- Retaining walls
- Pool decks (often part of a pool removal job)
How the breakup works
A Bobcat with a hydraulic breaker attachment hits the slab and fractures it into pieces small enough to load. Reinforced concrete (with rebar or wire mesh) takes longer because the reinforcement holds the broken pieces together and has to be cut. A standard two-car driveway, 4 inches thick, takes a day to break and load. Thicker slabs, commercial pads, or reinforced foundations add time.
What happens to the old concrete
Broken concrete gets loaded into a dump truck and hauled to a concrete recycler or a licensed disposal site. Recycled concrete gets crushed into aggregate and reused as road base or fill. Most of what comes off a residential job goes this route. The site after removal gets graded level and compacted, ready for a new pour or for grading into the surrounding yard.
What affects the cost
Four things: thickness (4-inch residential versus 6-inch commercial), reinforcement (plain versus rebar), access (can the equipment reach the slab without going through landscaping), and haul distance. Every job is different, which is why Mike's Bobcat Service quotes after seeing the site rather than over the phone. The estimate is free.
Concrete next to a structure
A slab attached to a foundation, a driveway that meets a garage floor, or a sidewalk that runs along a building wall all require care at the joint. The breaker cannot hammer right up against a foundation without risking damage to the foundation itself. These edges get cut with a concrete saw first, creating a clean separation line. Mike's Bobcat Service handles concrete breakup and removal across the OKC metro. Fully insured since 1994. Call (405) 413-4272 for a free estimate.