Out with the bad slab
We break out the cracked or sunken piece, haul it off, fix what was wrong underneath and pour it new.
Tear out and replace
Some concrete is past patching. The panel that sank two inches at one end. The patio that broke into four pieces, each one heading its own way. The walk a tree root lifted into a ramp. Filling the cracks on a slab like that buys a season at best. The honest fix is to take it out, find out why it failed and pour it again on ground that has been put right.
Tear out work scares off big crews for a simple reason. It is one or two panels, it takes a saw, a breaker and a trailer for the rubble, and the new pour is tiny. The work is mostly demolition and hauling. For us that is regular work. We cut and break out ahead of time, then pour off the scheduled truck along with the other small jobs in your town.
Common tear outs
- Single sidewalk panel
- One lifted or broken square of walk, cut out at the joints on both ends.
- One driveway panel
- The section that cracked or sank, replaced without touching the panels around it.
- Small patio, 10 by 12
- A full remove and repour when the whole slab has broken up or tilted toward the house.
- Old steps or landing
- A rocking or crumbling set broken out and rebuilt from the ground up.
How the job goes
- 1
Saw cut the edges
We cut a straight line at the nearest joints with a concrete saw. A clean cut helps keep the break from running into the good concrete next to it, and it gives the new pour a square edge to meet.
- 2
Break out and haul off
The slab is broken into pieces a person can lift, then loaded and hauled away. We do not leave it in a pile by your fence. If there is old wire mesh or rebar in it, that goes too.
- 3
Fix the cause
With the slab gone we can see what happened. Soft or washed out soil is dug out and replaced with compacted gravel. Roots are cut back where that is safe for the tree. Drainage is corrected if water was the problem.
- 4
Pour it new
Forms go on the open sides, an expansion strip goes against the old concrete, and we pour to match the height of what is around it. Broom finish, joints cut, and the same wait times as any new slab.
What makes it last
Concrete fails from the bottom up. These are the parts you will never see once the job is done, and they decide how the slab holds up.
- Finding out why it failed
- A new slab on the old problem fails the same way. Sunken or broken panels commonly trace back to poor compaction, water getting under the slab, or roots. The work starts there, before any concrete is ordered.
- Rebuilt base
- Soil under a failed slab is often loose or hollow. We take out the bad material, bring in gravel and compact it in layers, so the new panel sits on something firm when the ground gets wet.
- Tied to its neighbors
- On driveways we can drill dowels into the existing panels to help the new one stay even with them. On walks and patios, an expansion strip lets each piece move without pushing on the next.
- Right thickness this time
- Old slabs are sometimes thinner than they should be, which shows when they are broken out. The replacement goes in at four inches for walks and patios, and five to six with rebar where vehicles drive.
Start with a photo.
435·220·5536Text us a photo of the spot and rough measurements. We will tell you what we can from the photo, or come out and take a look. Rather type it out? Use the form.
Tear out and replace: straight answers
Should I repair it or replace it?
If the slab is level and solid with a few thin cracks, repair is usually enough. If pieces have moved up or down, if it rocks, or if it slopes toward the house, replacing is the better use of your money. Send a photo and we will give you our honest read.
What happens to the old concrete?
We haul it off, so you do not need to rent a dumpster or find a place to dump it. If you want to keep some pieces for fill or a garden border, tell us ahead of time and we will stack them where you want.
Will the new panel match?
It will match in height, slope and texture. It will not match in color for a while. Fresh concrete is pale and bright next to weathered panels. Over a few years of sun and dust the difference narrows, but a keen eye may always find it.
How long is the area torn up?
Size and access decide the schedule, and we will walk you through the plan before we start. The break out is often done ahead of the pour. After the pour you can walk on it in about a day and drive on it in about a week.