Concrete & Masonry Removal in Anaheim, CA
Anaheim Demolition Experts has handled concrete and masonry removal across Anaheim for more than 15 years, from driveway and patio slab removal to retaining wall and brick demolition. We've completed over 400 residential and commercial demolitions in that time, and every concrete removal job, whether it's a cracked driveway, a slab-on-grade patio, or a hillside retaining wall, gets the same written scope and the same local crew from first visit to final cleanup.
We're fully insured and bonded for work anywhere in Anaheim and Orange County, and we back every job with a 1-year workmanship warranty. If you need concrete demolition, masonry removal, or asphalt demolition done right the first time, this is the crew Anaheim homeowners and contractors call. Anaheim Demolition Experts also provides concrete and masonry removal to surrounding California cities, including Los Angeles, Long Beach, Riverside, Santa Ana, Irvine, Ontario, Huntington Beach, Garden Grove, Corona, and Fullerton.
Why We're The Best Demolition Contractors in Anaheim, CA
- Fully insured and bonded for every job in Anaheim and Orange County
- Every completed project carries a 1-year workmanship warranty
- Completed 400+ residential and commercial demolitions across the area
- Member of the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce
- Proud sponsor of the Katella High School soccer program
- Locally owned and operated, not a national chain rotating through crews
- Materials and supplies sourced through Westside Building Material's Anaheim yard, keeping recycling and disposal local
- Every estimate starts with a free on-site visit and a written scope before scheduling
- Same crew and project manager from day-one walkthrough through final cleanup
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What Concrete & Masonry Removal Covers
Concrete removal and concrete demolition are the umbrella terms we use for every job on this page, whether that's pulling out a driveway, breaking up a patio, or taking down a block wall. The equipment we bring depends on where the concrete sits. In tight spaces, like a narrow side yard or a patio boxed in by a fence and a house, we run a hydraulic breaker or jackhammer by hand because there isn't room to swing equipment. Once we're in an open driveway or a larger commercial pad, a skid-steer or mini-excavator with a hammer attachment breaks the slab up several times faster and cuts labor cost accordingly. The other variable that changes both the method and the price is reinforcement. Plain, unreinforced concrete breaks into manageable chunks with a few hits. Slabs poured with rebar or wire mesh hold together even after the concrete cracks, so we have to cut or pull the steel out of each section before it can be hauled off, which adds time on every reinforced job.
Driveway & Slab Removal
Driveway Removal
Most Anaheim driveways we remove are either a standard 4-inch slab or a 6-inch reinforced pour, and that difference matters before we even start breaking concrete. A 4-inch driveway usually isn't reinforced and comes up in workable slabs with a breaker or skid-steer hammer. A 6-inch driveway is almost always poured with rebar or wire mesh because it's meant to carry more weight, like a truck or an RV, so it takes longer to break and requires pulling steel out of the debris before haul-off. Once the slab is out, we also remove the compacted base rock underneath, since a new driveway pour or a hardscape installation needs fresh, properly graded base rather than whatever's left from the old job. We just wrapped up a 6-inch reinforced driveway off Euclid Street near Ball Road, about 640 square feet, the fifth reinforced driveway we've pulled out this year, and that one ran right around $4,950 once you factor in the rebar removal and haul-off.
Concrete Slab Removal
Concrete slab removal covers both exterior pads, like a side-yard slab or an old shed foundation, and interior slab-on-grade floors when a remodel calls for taking the existing floor out. A lot of what we run into depends on the age of the house. Anaheim has plenty of homes built before 1980, and a good share of those were poured without rebar or wire mesh, so the slab breaks apart fast with a hand breaker and doesn't need extra time separating steel. Homes built more recently, or additions poured after the 1980s, are far more likely to have reinforcement, which slows the job down and changes how we price it. Either way, we check the slab before quoting so the estimate reflects what's actually in the concrete, not just its age.
Patio Concrete Removal
Patio concrete removal in Anaheim usually comes down to one of two causes: tree root heave or plain settling and cracking over time. Root heave is common where a patio was poured close to a mature tree, ficus and jacaranda roots especially will lift and crack a slab section by section as they grow underneath it. Settling shows up more with older patios where the base wasn't compacted well to begin with, so sections sink unevenly instead of lifting. When a patio is heaved or uneven like that, we can't just start swinging a breaker at it. We score and cut around the raised or cracked sections first so a chunk of concrete doesn't shift and crack into an attached wall, a foundation footing, or a sliding door threshold on its way out. We handled a patio like that behind a house off Nohl Ranch Road in Anaheim Hills, about 380 square feet with heavy root heave from a ficus along the back fence, the twelfth root-heave patio job we've done this year, and it came in around $2,850 with the extra cutting work included.
Retaining Wall & Brick Removal
Retaining Wall Removal
Retaining wall removal is a different job in Anaheim Hills than it is on a flat lot in the rest of the city. A lot of the hillside lots up there sit on engineered graded-fill pads, meaning the pad your house sits on was built up and held in place by the retaining wall in the first place. Pull the wall without accounting for that, and you're not just removing concrete, you're taking away the thing holding the slope where it's supposed to be. For a low garden wall, that's usually not a major issue. For anything taller or load-bearing, we get it assessed and, on the larger walls, get engineering sign-off before any demolition starts, so the removal sequence accounts for temporary shoring or staged removal instead of just knocking the whole thing down at once. We pulled a wall like that on a graded-fill lot off Serrano Avenue in Anaheim Hills last spring, about 42 feet long and 4 feet tall, the third retaining wall we've removed up there this year that needed an engineer's sign-off first, and that job ran about $6,200 with the slope protection work included.
Brick Removal
Brick removal covers block walls, planters, and brick veneer on the outside of a house, and how we approach it depends on how the brick was set. Mortar-set brick, which is most of what we see on block walls and veneer, has to be broken apart because the mortar bond doesn't let bricks come out clean. Dry-stacked brick, more common on planters and some low garden walls, can often be pulled apart by hand without breaking the units, which opens up the option of setting bricks aside for the homeowner to reuse or for us to recycle instead of straight demolition and haul-off. We'll ask upfront whether you want brick salvaged before we start, since that changes how carefully we take the wall apart versus just breaking through it.
Sidewalk & Asphalt Demolition
Sidewalk Demolition
Sidewalk demolition gets treated differently than the concrete on your own property because the sidewalk in front of most Anaheim homes sits in the public right-of-way, not on the parcel itself. Cutting or removing right-of-way sidewalk, or a driveway apron where it meets the street, generally requires an encroachment permit through the City of Anaheim before any cutting starts. We pull that permit as part of the job when the scope calls for it, and we coordinate the work so the replacement pour meets city spec for that section, since right-of-way concrete gets inspected differently than a private driveway or patio.
Asphalt Demolition
Asphalt demolition comes up most on older driveways, small parking pads, and side-yard areas that were paved with asphalt instead of poured concrete. Asphalt breaks up differently than concrete. It's more flexible and layered over a compacted base rather than a single rigid slab, so it tends to come up in larger sheets and chunks with a skid-steer or breaker rather than the smaller pieces you get breaking concrete. It also goes through a separate disposal and recycling stream, since asphalt millings and chunks get processed differently than crushed concrete, so we haul asphalt debris to a facility set up for that rather than mixing it in with a concrete load.
Cost Factors for Concrete & Masonry Removal
Four things move the price on most concrete and masonry removal jobs we quote in Anaheim. Slab thickness and reinforcement come first, since a 6-inch rebar driveway takes noticeably longer to break and clear than a 4-inch unreinforced patio of the same size. Equipment access is next: if a skid-steer or mini-excavator can get into the area, the job moves fast and the price reflects that, but if it's a jackhammer-only space, boxed in by a fence, a gate, or tight side-yard clearance, the labor time goes up and so does the cost. Haul distance factors in too, since debris trucks running back and forth to disposal eat into the day on larger jobs. The last piece is where the concrete goes once it's out. Clean concrete we haul to Westside Building Material's Anaheim yard gets crushed and recycled as base rock, and that recycling credit usually brings the price down compared to hauling the same load straight to landfill, so we sort and haul clean loads separately whenever a job allows for it.
Our Concrete & Masonry Removal Process
Step 1: Free Site Visit & Scope
We do a free on-site visit and put together a written scope so you know exactly what's being removed and roughly what it'll cost.
Step 2: Permits & Clearances
Before any equipment touches the site, we pull permits, get utility locates done, and handle any required notifications, including a SCAQMD Rule 1403 asbestos survey when the age of the structure calls for one.
Step 3: Site Protection
We fence off the work area, control dust, and protect any adjacent structures or surfaces that aren't part of the job.
Step 4: Demolition
The same local crew and project manager who ran your first site visit carry out the demolition itself.
Step 5: Cleanup & Walkthrough
We match existing wall textures or apply a new finish based on the client's preference
Frequently Asked Demolition Questions
How much does concrete driveway removal cost in Anaheim?
It depends more on thickness, reinforcement, and access than on square footage alone. A 4-inch unreinforced driveway that a skid-steer can reach comes in cheaper per square foot than a 6-inch rebar-reinforced driveway in a tight side yard that needs hand-jackhammer work. Haul distance and whether the concrete goes to recycling or landfill factor in too. Most Anaheim driveway removals fall between roughly $3.50 and $7.00 per square foot depending on those factors, and we'll give you an exact number after the free on-site visit.
Do I need a permit for concrete slab removal in Anaheim?
Removing flatwork on your own property, like a patio or a driveway that isn't in the public right-of-way, usually doesn't require a separate building permit on its own. Right-of-way work is different: sidewalk sections and driveway aprons that meet the street need a City of Anaheim encroachment permit before cutting starts. Since scope can vary lot to lot, it's worth confirming exactly what your job needs during the free estimate rather than assuming either way.
Can you remove a retaining wall without damaging the slope behind it?
In most cases, yes, but it depends on the wall. A lot of Anaheim Hills lots sit on engineered graded-fill pads that the retaining wall is holding in place, so removing a taller or load-bearing wall without a plan can destabilize the slope behind it. We assess wall height and load before quoting, and on the larger walls we get engineering sign-off before demolition so the removal sequence, including any temporary shoring, protects the slope rather than just taking the wall down and hoping it holds.
What happens to the concrete after it's removed?
Clean concrete gets hauled to Westside Building Material's Anaheim yard, where it's crushed and recycled into base rock rather than sent to landfill. That's better for the job too, since recycled loads typically come with a lower disposal cost than a straight landfill haul, and it's part of how we keep pricing competitive on larger jobs.
Is asphalt demolition priced differently than concrete removal?
Yes. Asphalt breaks up in a different way than concrete, usually in larger sheets rather than smaller chunks, and it's disposed of and recycled through a separate stream from concrete debris. Depending on the thickness and condition of the asphalt, that can make it faster or slower than a same-size concrete job, so we price each one based on what's actually there rather than treating asphalt and concrete the same.
How long does a typical concrete removal job take?
A single driveway removal, if access is good, is usually a one-day job from breaking to haul-off. A larger project, like a full patio, walkway, and side-yard slab together, can run two to three days depending on square footage, reinforcement, and how much hand-breaker work is needed in tight spots. We'll give you a realistic timeline as part of the written scope so you know what to expect before we start.
Do you remove brick walls and planters, or just concrete?
Both. Brick and masonry removal, including block walls, planters, and brick veneer, is part of what we do alongside concrete flatwork. If you want brick set aside for reuse or recycling instead of straight demolition, let us know before we start so we can take the wall apart accordingly.