Call a professional
If you’re not sure what you are doing, call a professional. You don’t want to risk getting hurt or making the situation worse.
The removal of a concrete slab can be dangerous if done improperly and your contractor must know what they are doing before they start working on your property. Slab removal isn’t for the inexperienced and in many instances concrete scanning will need to be done beforehand to ensure that it is safe to remove. Many things can be embedded in concrete including, electrical wiring, pipes and rebar. Hitting these with force can be extremely dangerous for not only the person conducting the work but those around them.
Check for code compliance
When you’re ready to remove your concrete slab, check with your local council. The city may have specific requirements for removing concrete slabs. For example, if there are any underground utilities in the way of where you want to remove your slab, they might require that you hire an electrician, plumber or concrete scanning professional before digging.
If you’re unsure whether or not it’s legal or safe to remove a concrete slab on your property, ask an expert before proceeding with any work.
Have the slab scanned before removal to ensure embedded objects aren't stuck during the demolition process
As mentioned, scanning the slab before removal can help you identify embedded objects that may be stuck in the concrete. This will also allow you to determine the best way to remove it, as well as how best to dispose of or recycle it once removed from your property.
Your contractor will use a scanning machine that emits electromagnetic waves into the ground below your slab, which then returns information about what’s underground. The data is displayed on a monitor in real-time, allowing you or your contractor to see any obstacles in the way ensuring that you can proceed safely!
Have an engineer inspect the site to check for any potential integrity issues that could have been compromised by removing the slab
Safety is the most important thing when it comes to removing a concrete slab. Before you begin, you should have an engineer inspect the site to check for any potential integrity issues that could have been compromised by removing the slab. If there are no problems with your foundation or other parts of your home, then you will be able to proceed with removing it yourself.
The concrete slab can start being removed with jackhammers or excavators
To remove a concrete slab, jackhammers or excavators can be used to break it up into smaller pieces. While you can use a sledgehammer for this task, it’s time-consuming and laborious.
Excavate into the dirt around the foundation to create a larger hole for installing new footing or footings for a new foundation wall if needed.
If you’re planning on rebuilding or repairing your concrete slab, you’ll need to dig out some of the surrounding dirt so that you can fit in whatever materials will support your new slab. You may also want to create space around your existing foundation walls so that they’re not directly on top of each other; this will help prevent water from pooling around them and causing damage over time (which could lead to cracks in your foundation). If this is something that interests you, it’s best to hire an excavator who knows what they are doing! It’s easy enough for someone inexperienced with these types of projects to get hurt doing it themselves without proper safety precautions.
It can work out cheaper to hire a professional to remove your concrete slab
Removing a concrete slab can be a messy and difficult job to do yourself and in the end, it can work out cheaper to hire a professional to remove it for you.
Equipment, PPE and permit approvals (if required) all add up.
If you do hire someone to remove your concrete, they will have all the necessary tools that you may not have access to such as jackhammers and excavators. These cost anything from a few hundred dollars right up to thousands. If you already have these items in your garage then there would be no additional cost involved as they would simply be used for the job before being put away again until needed again. If you are like most others, you won’t have specialised equipment or machinery on hand to do the job. Not to mention the licences required to operate specialised machinery. A professional will be able to complete the task quickly and efficiently ensuring that all mess is taken care of afterwards. After all, concrete is extremely heavy and attempting to lift it manually can be challenging. It’s simply not worth getting injured over to save a few dollars.
Removing concrete slabs can be dangerous and should be done by professionals
Removing a concrete slab can be dangerous and should be done by professionals. To recap:
- Call a professional if you’re not sure whether you can safely remove your concrete slab.
- Check for code compliance before removing the old concrete, especially if the floor is part of the foundation or support structure for other parts of your home or business. For example, if pipes are running underneath the slab that need to remain intact after removal, it may be best to leave them in place until they are replaced with new ones later on.
- Have your contractor scan the floor before removal so they can plan how best to proceed with their work and so they won’t accidentally destroy anything important while working on this project.
If you have decided to go with the DIY approach, make sure that you get all of the necessary permits first and always wear proper PPE. The last thing you want is to get hurt while trying to complete this project! At South East Scanning, we offer premium concrete-related services such as concrete scanning, core drilling and concrete cutting. For professional advice on removing your concrete slab, contact our skilled and knowledgeable team today.
