How to remove the cement in my backyard?
by
Anne
+5
Hi--I live in a rowhouse in Brooklyn, NY. Our backyard is about 20'x 50'. We've had the house for about 12 years. My family and I live on the top two floors. We don't use the yard very often, as we rent out the ground floor apartment, although we do have direct access via a small second floor deck. All that said I am tired of looking at a barren yard with some disorganized planting around the sides and a lot of crack cement in the center (my son actually used the yard as the setting for a video he filmed for school on the risks of nuclear proliferation!). So, the first step would be to get rid of the cement. Is it advisable to do this as a DIY project? If so, I would love any advice about how to best go about it!
Thank you!!
Anne
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You could try this: https://www.budgetdumpster.com/blog/removing-concrete-driveway/
It might be better to just put some raised planters or add gravel or something over top.
You can try to break up the cement into smaller pieces and dump it where your municipality has a location to do so. You will require a truck or a solid trailer to haul it away. You can have a contractor come in to jack hammer it up and take care of the whole thing for you, leaving you with a level area to rake and either sod or grow plants. Draw out a sketch as to what you would like to see before starting your project, this will save you time and money.
Get out your gloves and hard work. We just did this to clean it all up. It’s more work than you can imagine. It also might be very deep. Good luck!
If you are strong and don't have back problems, I would say it's a DIY project. Bust up into as small pieces as possible. You will need leverage to pop the pieces out of the ground. Probably a sturdy, wide shovel. Pace yourself and don't over do it.
Rent a jack hammer & get some good leather gloves,comfortable safety glasses,some descent strong pain relievers for your back & arms. You could reuse it and make numerous functional things,you could also advertise "free to good home"for people in your area that are looking for some instead of paying to take it somewhere for disposal. Pray it isn't full of rebar. https://www.familyhandyman.com/masonry/concrete-repair/concrete-demolition-tools-and-tips/view-all/ https://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete/demolition/urbanite-recycled-concrete.html