Concrete driveway demolition is difficult because they are intended to last for the entire life of a home. Laid on a solid foundation and reinforced with steel rebar, these sturdy structures provide a place to park vehicles off the street and also a place to host garage sales and host pickup games of basketball. Unfortunately, years of exposure to extreme weather elements and traffic take their toll. Many begin to crack after several years of use. The choice most homeowners face is to patch it up or replace it completely. (Much like having to take down an old aluminum carport.)
How to Replace a Concrete Driveway
Since the cost of total replacement is expensive, most homeowners elect to make repairs as necessary. However, this does much to detract from the curb appeal of their property and also decreases the value of their home. Replacing a concrete driveway might not be an exciting proposition, but doing so with pavers is a great choice. This adds much aesthetics and increases the value of the home.
The constant freeze-thaw cycles and the thousands of pounds of metal moving over your driveway every day are going to damage it at some point. This damage will normally show up as small cracks across the surface or small divots in the material, and it's these signs of minor damage that really call for driveway patching. --Angie's List.com
Taking out a concrete driveway, though, is no easy task. You not only have to break through the dense layers, but also be prepared to wrangle with the steel rebar. You'll need a few sets of helping hands and some large tools and equipment.
How to Break Up a Concrete Driveway in Seffner
You'll need to rent a mini excavator and a jackhammer. You'll also need to dispose of the old concrete. You can rent a dumpster, which won't be cheap and will cost extra if you miscalculate how many yards you'll need or phone a junk removal service to pickup and haul off the broken concrete. Choosing the latter means you won't have to endure the back breaking work of having to load a dumpster yourself.
Check with your local building department to get a permit. Once you have a permit, you can use the equipment to breakup the old concrete driveway. Start at the corner near the garage and carefully work a jackhammer across, leaving a foot or two between the garage and your demolition. This will help you avoid accidentally breaking up the area going into your garage floor. From there, work across and down toward the street.
As you break up the old concrete driveway, dump the rubble to one side, preferably to the side lawn rather than your front lawn. If necessary, you might have to re-sod the area, depending on how long the rubble remains on it. To lessen the possibility of damaging your side lawn, schedule the junk disposal service in advance by phoning 800-433-1094 or visit AAA Rousse Services.