What removal involves
The contractor saw-cuts a clean line where the removal stops, breaks the slab with a breaker or machine, loads the pieces and hauls them off. Concrete is heavy, so disposal is a real cost; some loads go to recyclers who crush concrete into base rock. What's underneath is then cleaned up and, if new concrete is coming, regraded.
What changes the price
- Thickness and steel. Thicker slabs and rebar-reinforced concrete take longer to break and load.
- Access. A backyard patio behind a fence with no machine access may be broken and wheeled out by hand.
- Haul distance and disposal fees.
- What's under it. Old asphalt, a buried earlier slab or caliche can all add time.
- Saw-cutting. Clean edges against concrete that stays.
National cost guides put removal at about $2 to $6 per square foot, with unreinforced slabs at the low end and reinforced concrete at the top. One guide puts an average removal job around $1,380. Search ads for concrete removal around Boise carry noticeable click prices, which suggests local contractors compete for these jobs; get more than one quote.
Before the breaker shows up
Call 811, the national call-before-you-dig line, or have the contractor do it before any digging, so buried utilities are marked. Mark sprinkler heads and lines yourself; they aren't public utilities and won't be located. If the removal reaches the approach or public sidewalk, that's right-of-way work and needs an ACHD permit in Ada County. Removal followed by new concrete: see driveway replacement and concrete slabs.
Back to the main guide: Boise concrete contractors.