Driveways, slabs and foundations
Concrete and Foundation Removal in San Jose
Cracked driveways, sunken patios, old foundations, garage slabs and failing retaining walls broken out, loaded and sent to a concrete recycler, with the base left ready for whatever goes in next.
Driveway and Patio Removal in San Jose
Driveways in older San Jose neighborhoods take a beating. Street tree roots lift slabs along the Willow Glen and Rose Garden parkways, 1950s and 1960s driveways in Cambrian and Blossom Valley were poured thin with little or no reinforcing, and decades of patching leave a surface that cannot be saved. Patios behind ranch homes often settle away from the house or crack around old planters.
We saw-cut clean edges where new concrete will meet old, break out the slab with a breaker or excavator, and load it straight into trucks. Where a driveway meets the sidewalk and the city right-of-way, we check whether the approach or sidewalk work needs a separate city permit before we touch it. Root-damaged sections near protected trees are worked around carefully, not just ripped out.
Foundation and Slab Removal After a Teardown
Foundations are usually part of a house demolition, but we also remove them on their own: after a fire, when a previous owner left a foundation behind, or when an engineer decides an old perimeter foundation cannot carry an addition. Pre-war San Jose homes often sit on shallow unreinforced concrete, sometimes with brick piers. Postwar ranches may be on a slab with footings at the edges.
Garage slabs, shop floors and old equipment pads come up often too, especially when a detached garage is being cleared for an ADU. We remove the slab and footings, pull any embedded pipes or conduit, fill the voids and rough grade so the new foundation goes in on clean ground.
Retaining Wall Removal on San Jose Hillside Lots
Hillside lots in Evergreen, Almaden Valley and the east foothills often have concrete or block retaining walls that have cracked, leaned or failed. Removing one is not a simple demolition. The soil behind it has to be dealt with, and in some cases the slope needs temporary support while the new wall is designed and built.
Many retaining wall replacements need an engineer's design and a permit, especially taller walls or walls holding up a driveway or structure. We work with your engineer, take the old wall out in sections, and stage the soil so the slope stays stable. Parts of the San Jose foothills sit in fire hazard and landslide mapping zones, which can add review steps.
Concrete Recycling and Cost Drivers
Broken concrete with the dirt kept out of it gets crushed into base rock at a recycling yard. That keeps tons of rubble out of landfills and counts toward the diversion share San Jose expects under CALGreen. We keep rebar and wire mesh separate for scrap and keep weight tickets for your permit file.
Cost comes down to square footage, thickness, how much steel is in it, access for equipment and trucks, and how far we have to haul. A thick reinforced slab behind a house with only a side-gate entry costs more to remove than a thin driveway at the curb. Mixed loads of concrete, dirt and debris cost more to dispose of than clean concrete.
What Our Concrete Removal Includes in San Jose
Saw-Cutting for Clean Concrete Edges
Where old concrete meets new, we saw-cut a clean line so the new pour has a neat joint and the surrounding slab, curb or walkway is not damaged. Wet cutting keeps the silica dust down.
Concrete Breakout and Loading
Driveways, patios, slabs, footings and walls are broken out with equipment sized to your lot and loaded directly into trucks or bins. Thick reinforced sections are split with a hydraulic breaker before the bucket lifts them out.
Concrete and Rebar Recycling
Clean concrete goes to a recycler to be crushed for base rock. Rebar and mesh go to scrap. Weight tickets are kept for your permit records. Mixed loads cost more to dump, so we keep dirt and trash out of the concrete piles.
Base Prep After Concrete Removal
After removal, voids are filled and the subgrade is rough graded so your concrete or landscape crew starts on a level, clean base. Old buried pipe sleeves and conduit found under the slab are pulled or capped.
Concrete Removal: Job Site Photos
Concrete and Foundation Removal Across San Jose
Demolition FAQs
Concrete and Foundation Removal: Common San Jose Questions
My driveway is cracked and lifted by roots. Does the city need to sign off before it is torn out?
Concrete that sits entirely on your lot often comes out without a separate permit. The approach, curb and sidewalk are public right-of-way, and touching those does need city approval. Foundations and retaining walls ride on a demolition or building permit. We sort out which applies before we start.
Where does the broken concrete end up?
At a recycler that crushes it into base rock for roads and new slabs. The trick is keeping soil and trash out of the loads, which we do on site.
How long does it take to remove a driveway or patio?
A standard driveway or patio usually takes a day or two to break out and haul. Thick reinforced slabs, retaining walls and tight access take longer.
What makes concrete removal cost more?
Thickness, rebar, square footage, access, distance to the recycler and whether soil or debris is mixed in. Retaining walls with soil behind them cost more than flat slabs.
Will breaking out concrete hurt the roots of a big tree?
It can, so we slow down near trunks. Near large trees we break concrete by hand or with small equipment, avoid cutting major roots, and follow any tree protection conditions on your permit. San Jose protects many larger trees and street trees, so we check before work starts.
Demolition quote
Request a Concrete Removal Quote in San Jose
Give us a rough size and a description of the concrete that has to go, and we will follow up inside a day by phone or email.
- Permits
- Demolition
- Haul-off