Driveways, patios, slabs and sidewalks
Independence Demolition Pros: Concrete Removal in Independence, Missouri
Heaved driveways, cracked patios, old slabs and curbs broken out with a breaker, loaded and hauled to a concrete recycler, with the base graded for whatever comes next.
- Independence and 10 towns within 20 miles
- Written price before any work starts
- City permit, utility and asbestos steps explained
- Local, licensed, insured contractors
Independence Demolition Pros connects Independence owners with local contractors for concrete removal, the job behind most driveway replacements, patio rebuilds and garage-slab teardowns in the city. A skid steer with a hydraulic breaker, a bucket to load, a dump trailer or roll-off to haul, and a recycler that takes clean concrete for a fraction of the landfill rate.
Pouring a new driveway over a heaved one saves the $2,400 to $3,000 removal and fails the same way the old one did within a few winters; tearing out two layers later costs more than the first removal would have, and the base still needs fixing.
What it costs
$2,400 to $3,000
HomeBlue's Kansas City, Missouri guide (May 2024) prices concrete removal at $4 to $5 per square foot for a 4 to 6 inch slab, so a 600 square foot driveway runs $2,400 to $3,000. Thicker slabs, rebar or wire mesh, a long carry to the truck and steps or retaining walls push the per-foot number up.
Calls answered Monday to Friday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Concrete that is past patching
- Slabs heaved an inch or more at the joints by the clay underneath, catching every snow shovel
- Cracks you can fit a finger in, with the sections rocking under a car
- A driveway that drains toward the garage or the foundation instead of the street
- Spalled, scaling surface where decades of salt have eaten the top half-inch
- A patio pulling away from the house and letting water run into the basement wall
- A slab or footing left behind by a building that came down years ago
How concrete comes out
A skid steer with a hydraulic breaker cracks the slab into pieces a bucket can lift. Wire mesh and rebar are cut as the sections come up and sorted for scrap. The rubble goes into a dump trailer or roll-off and on to a concrete recycler, which crushes it for road base; that keeps the tipping fee far below the landfill rate, and a quote that names the recycler has thought about it. The base underneath is then graded, and if a new slab is going in, the soft spots in the clay are dug out and replaced with compacted rock.
- Machine
- Skid steer with breaker and bucket; mini excavator for tight yards
- Disposal
- Clean concrete to a recycler, rebar and mesh to scrap
- Permit
- Usually none for a driveway or patio; a right-of-way permit for work at the curb or sidewalk
Why slabs heave on Independence clay
The soils mapped across Independence and its suburbs are silty clay loams over glacial till and loess, slow to drain and quick to swell when wet and shrink when dry. A slab poured straight on that clay without a compacted rock base rides the seasons up and down until the joints no longer line up. Removal is the chance to fix the base, and the crews we work with will say what they find under the old slab so the new one does not repeat it.
Driveway or patio ready to come out?
Give the rough square footage, the thickness if you know it, and what is going in its place. A local contractor prices the removal and the hauling in writing.
Call (816) 846-2347Driveways, patios, sidewalks and the public right-of-way
A driveway or patio on private ground needs no City permit to remove. The driveway approach between the sidewalk and the curb, and the sidewalk itself, sit in the public right-of-way, and work there goes through Municipal Services on a right-of-way permit. Independence inspects capped water lines at the main under the same permit, so a driveway job that also kills an old water service is one application.
Concrete removal in the towns around Independence
The job is the same in Raytown, Grandview or Grain Valley, and each city has its own right-of-way rule for the approach and sidewalk. Concrete removal often rides along with a garage demolition or a foundation removal on the same lot.
Concrete Removal available in
Frequently asked questions
What owners ask before a teardown
How much does concrete removal cost in Independence?
HomeBlue's Kansas City guide puts it at $4 to $5 per square foot for a 4 to 6 inch slab, so a 600 square foot driveway runs $2,400 to $3,000. Rebar, thickness and a long carry push it up.
Do I need a permit to remove a driveway?
Not for the part on your own lot. The approach between the sidewalk and the curb, and the sidewalk itself, are in the right-of-way and go through Municipal Services on a right-of-way permit.
What are the signs a driveway should be replaced rather than patched?
Heaved joints, rocking sections, cracks wide enough for a finger, surface scaling from salt, or drainage running toward the house. Patches on a heaving slab last a season.
Where does the old concrete go?
To a concrete recycler, where it is crushed for road base. That costs far less than the landfill, which is why clean concrete is kept separate from the rest of the debris.
Can the new driveway be poured over the old one?
It can, and it fails the same way. The clay base is the problem, and removal is the only time it can be dug out and replaced with compacted rock.