How to Break Concrete

There are times when you need to demolish a piece of concrete to repair an underground pipe, or when you want to transform a concrete yard into a garden to create green space. With a little effort and using the right tools, you can remove an entire slab or just a small part. Then, what you need to do is load the concrete into the truck to take it to the place that needs to be leveled.

Table of Contents

Remove all concrete slabs

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Call utility companies. Be sure to call your local utility companies to make sure there are no power lines or pipes under the concrete floor. Please hire a professional if possible. Digging earth on gas or electrical lines can be dangerous. ^{[1] X Research Source}

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Use safety equipment. Breaking concrete creates toxic dust and sharp debris, so protect yourself and your co-workers with goggles, dust mask or facemask, steel toe shoes or boots, and gloves. thick arms, and thick cloths covering all the limbs. ^{[2] X Research Source}

If you plan to use a power tool such as a concrete chisel, use earplugs. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

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Use plastic tarpaulin to cover the concrete slab to protect fragile items. Be careful when using plastic tarpaulins because sometimes tarpaulins can cause you to slip or trip. However, tarps are necessary if you are working near fragile objects or structures.

If you are working in a large space away from other fragile structures and objects, tarps may not be needed.
Concrete debris can be thrown very far due to the impact of hammers and tools. If you are unsure, you should cover the surrounding space.
If you don’t use tarpaulin, use plywood to protect glass windows or nearby fragile objects. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

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Find a large crowbar. Whether you’re using a sledgehammer or a concrete chisel, you’ll often have to use a crowbar to pry apart the pieces of concrete. Concrete dismantling will take the least amount of time if one person breaks the concrete and one person follows to remove the broken pieces. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

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Use a sledgehammer to break thin concrete slabs. If the concrete is only 10cm thick, use a sledgehammer. Start at the crack, corner, or edge of the slab, and remember that thick slabs are easiest to break near the edge. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

Do not try to swing or raise the hammer overhead; instead, hold the hammer at shoulder height and hit the concrete floor.
Use the crowbar to pry the concrete pieces apart after they have been smashed. Then, remove the concrete pieces from the walkway to avoid tripping hazards.
You should use a concrete chisel if after 10 minutes the concrete has not cracked significantly and you are exhausted.

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Dig underneath the slab if the concrete is too hard. “Digging underneath” or removing soil under the slab will make the concrete more susceptible to cracking. Use a shovel to shovel the soil below the edge of the concrete floor, then use a hammer to break the edge of the floor.

The more soil you remove underneath the slab, the easier it is to break the concrete. However, just shoveling a little soil underneath makes the concrete much more fragile.
While shoveling the soil, use a sprinkler to loosen the soil and flush the soil out.

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Use a concrete chisel. The 27kg concrete chisel is enough to tackle almost any job in the house. You should only rent a pneumatic heavy duty chisel for very thick or hard concrete. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Only use chisels to break concrete. The chisel helps to focus the force on the concrete, making the concrete more fragile.
You just let the machine’s own weight do the work, no need to press down to create more force. Pressing the chisel may damage the tool or jam the chisel.
If the concrete does not crack immediately, stop the machine and move to another location a few centimeters away. Continuing to operate the machine may cause the chisel to jam.
Break concrete into pieces 5-8 cm apart to reduce the risk of chisels getting stuck.
Use the crowbar to pry the concrete pieces apart after cracking. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Remove a small portion of concrete

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Determine the location to break the concrete. If you are looking for a broken water pipe and can roughly guess the location, it will save a lot of effort and cost. You need to look for the following:

For pipeline problems, try to find the location and depth of the underground pipe. Look for outdoor drains, drains, or use a pipe detector.
For potable water problems, find where water seeps from cracks in the concrete floor or seeps through the edge of the concrete floor.
For electrical lines, you may have to find a piece of insulated pipe outside of the concrete floor and dig it up to see where the power lines go.
For other problems, you need to check the construction drawings with the local authority or ask the contractor for the construction drawings of the house.

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Mark the location of the concrete slab that you plan to demolish. It’s a good idea to measure the distance from the edges of the concrete floor to create a well-balanced and parallel hole, making the patch less prominent later on. Use a pencil or chalk to mark the spot. ^{[11] X Research Source}

Since you don’t know what’s underneath the concrete, leave plenty of space around the repair area to avoid further damage.

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Close all related utility systems. If you are digging at a line or pipe location, you must close or disconnect the water and electrical lines before starting. Surely you don’t want to get electrocuted, spill water or leak gas.

Be sure to call the utility company to locate power lines and other hazardous structures before undertaking a project that requires excavation. ^{[12] X Research Source}

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Cut in a straight line, the deeper the better. First you need to rent a concrete cutter. Cut an even line to create a neat concrete edge after the concrete floor is demolished. If you are looking for a broken water pipe, the hole must be widened after the first concrete block is removed. ^{[13] X Research Source}

Be especially careful while cutting concrete. Concrete cutters are so powerful that they can cause serious injury or physical harm or even death if not used properly.
Always wear a mask or respirator to protect your lungs from cement dust, and always follow the instructions for using the tool.
If possible, you should use a cutter with a water inlet pipe to limit dust dispersion into the air and prevent the risk of breaking the cutting disc. ^{[14] X Research Source}

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Break concrete near the cut. Use a heavy duty hammer drill or a chisel mounted on a rotary hammer to break the concrete near the line you just cut. Tilt the chisel so that the concrete you want to remove will come out, not the concrete that needs to be retained. ^{[15] X Research Source}

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Dig deeper. Still using the same tool to break open the area around the cut, deepening until it reaches the bottom of the concrete slab. This is the hardest part because the pieces of concrete you want to break can’t be broken until there’s space for them to burst.

You may have to leave areas of concrete that are too hard until the adjacent concrete has broken down and come apart. ^{[16] X Research Source}

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Punch inward to widen the opening. After you have created a gap between the concrete to be removed and the concrete that is retained, continue to chisel with that tool. Open the gap to at least 8 cm or wide enough to remove concrete pieces.

Hold the chisel slanted into the original hole and start punching around the perimeter of the hole, so the chisel will not go straight down the hole.
If the chisel goes too deep, the chisel will get stuck in the hole and you won’t be able to pull it out.
If the chisel gets stuck then you need to use a new chisel to break the surrounding concrete and remove the other chisel. ^{[17] X Research Source}

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Break concrete with a sledgehammer or concrete chisel. When the gap is wide enough to avoid damaging the concrete you want to keep, you can use the techniques described in this section to remove the entire slab. ^{[18] X Research Sources}

Use a crowbar for the fastest and most effective results.
Do not use a concrete chisel or similar electrical equipment if the concrete location is near water pipes, electrical wires or gas lines.
Remove broken pieces of concrete from the hole as the amount of concrete increases so you can work more comfortably, and easily detect pipes or electrical lines.
Use bolt cutters to cut the reinforcement mesh and use a circular saw to cut the steel bars.

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Clean the hole wall. After removing all the concrete, you will trim the concrete on the hole wall to create a flatter surface. This is to ensure the quality of the subsequent repair (or to make the edge of the concrete easier to see if you don’t intend to patch it up).

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Look for damaged pipes (as the case may be). If you’re looking for broken pipes or electrical lines, look out for signs while breaking concrete, like puddles or traces of water. If you see a pipe, you need to continue breaking the concrete along the pipe until you find the broken part of the pipe.

When digging near a broken pipe or power line, you should slow down and swing the hammer more accurately to avoid further damage.
To protect pipes and power lines, try to avoid hitting the concrete directly above them with the hammer.
Avoid hammering on cast iron or PVC pipes because these materials are brittle and can easily be broken.

Concrete shredding

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Use dirt to level. If there is a large hole in the yard, you can use rubble to fill it. Cover with soft soil over pipes or other objects to prevent damage when exposed to backfill concrete.

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Use a wheelbarrow or large stroller. Transport debris to a larger container using a large wheelbarrow. Concrete is so heavy that it can damage a small wheelbarrow, or you can use a cart to transport it. With a trolley, you only need to move concrete blocks a few centimeters instead of having to lift them on a wheelbarrow.

Do not overload the wheelbarrow to prevent it from tipping over and creating more jobs for you. Shipping multiple times with less quantity will avoid overcrowding.
Consider renting an electric wheelbarrow. ^{[19] X Research Source}

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Rent large trash cans at waste material handling companies. If you need to dispose of a large amount of concrete, be sure to rent a large trash can. Many waste material handling companies offer reduced service fees for simple concrete debris. ^{[20] X Research Source}

You need to ask in advance how much concrete you can put in the bin, otherwise you will have to remove the excess concrete or pay more for them to process. ^{[21] X Research Source}

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Contact the leveling yard to ask about the cost of removing concrete. In some places, only landfills that accept construction materials accept concrete treatment. ^{[22] X Trusted Source United States Environmental Protection Agency Go to Source} Concrete disposal fees at these landfills can be quite high, so you should ask in advance.

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Transport concrete to the leveling yard. Be careful because trucks may not be able to transport as much concrete as you think. Use a large capacity truck and do not overfill the trunk. Half full is usually fine for large trucks, with smaller trucks you should be filling 1/4 full. ^{[23] X Research Sources}

You can also use a truck trailer, but be especially careful in that case. Too heavy a trailer can hit the vehicle or spill material. ^{[24] X Research Source}
Building material supply companies can pick up the debris for free if you call ahead and agree to deliver it yourself.

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Provide scrap for other construction projects. Concrete chips can be used to raise the foundation of a house or building. You can also use concrete slabs that look like curb material to create walkways. Paint the concrete blocks with unique shapes to decorate the garden.

Alternatively, you can arrange the concrete pieces in a circle to create a fire place in the backyard.

Advice

If you are breaking concrete in a walkway or curb, cut the expansion joints on the sides. These positions are not only thinner, but also have a clear shape, making it easier to pour new concrete in.
Look for specialized concrete breakers at a tool and equipment rental store if you only need them once, as they are very expensive.
For concrete with an area of over 1.5-2 square meters, renting a concrete chisel or hiring a worker will be the fastest choice.
Use smaller, lighter tools to break concrete near pipes or other fragile structures.
Use the largest hammer drill or rotary hammer suitable for the job.
Avoid damaging reinforcing bars or mesh if possible. Damage to reinforcing steel can adversely affect adjacent concrete.

Warning

Rotating hammer produces large torque. Be sure to use the extra handle provided with this unit.
Read all instrument manufacturer’s instructions and observe safety rules. Do not use the device until you have fully understood how to operate it.
Wear a mask or dust mask when dry cutting concrete, if possible use a wet cutting system. Concrete contains silica dust, which can be harmful to the respiratory system. Old concrete may also contain asbestos; Please test before starting work if you have doubts about the concrete composition.

Things you need

Bolt cutter (if wire mesh is available)
Concrete cutters
Dust mask or mask
Earplugs (if working with electrical equipment)
Hammer drill
Gloves, boots or thick clothes
Large crowbar
Polyethylene tarpaulin (optional)
Reciprocating saw or circular saw (if reinforced bar is available)
Rotary drill hammer
Goggles
sledgehammer, electric or pneumatic concrete chisel

Steps