Haul-off
Dirt & Concrete Removal in San Pablo, CA
Old driveways, patios, walkways, and spoil piles broken out, loaded, and taken off your property.
Overview
What dirt & concrete removal involves on a real property
Concrete and soil are the two heaviest things most properties need to get rid of, and weight is what makes them awkward. A cubic yard of soil runs well over a ton, and four inches of reinforced slab weighs about fifty pounds per square foot. That is why a pile that looks manageable in a backyard turns into six truckloads, and why removal is priced by weight and access rather than by how big the area looks.
We remove old driveways, patios, walkways, porch slabs, curbs, footings, retaining wall remnants, pool decks, and mortar-set masonry, along with soil from excavation spoil, hillside cuts, garden bed regrades, and crawl space digs. The work runs the range from a single walkway section replaced by a landscape crew to a full commercial slab removal at a Richmond property being repurposed.
Clean concrete is not waste. Broken up and free of soil, wood, and trash, it goes to a recycling facility that crushes it into aggregate base, and the tipping rate is meaningfully lower than general construction debris. We separate on site as a matter of routine, because the sorting cost is small and the disposal savings are not. When rebar or wire mesh is present, it is cut out and sent to metal recycling.
Access decides the method. A driveway at street level can be broken and loaded directly with a machine. A backyard patio behind a narrow gate may need a compact breaker, a track loader shuttling to the front, and a container staged on the street. We look at your pinch points during the estimate and quote a method that fits, so nothing is discovered on the morning of the work.
What we leave behind matters as much as what we take. After removal, the area is graded to a consistent elevation, compacted where a new slab or paver base is going, and cleared of the rebar ends, mortar chunks, and buried debris that would otherwise show up during the next contractor's prep.
What you get
Six things this service is built around
Clean concrete goes to recycling
Soil, wood, and trash are separated from the concrete so the load qualifies for aggregate recycling instead of a general waste tipping rate.
Rebar and mesh removed properly
Reinforcement is cut and pulled rather than left as spikes buried in the subgrade for the next crew to find.
Tight-access methods available
Compact breakers and track loaders reach backyards and side yards where a full-size machine cannot go.
Priced by weight and access
Estimates are built on realistic tonnage and haul distance, so the number you approve is the number that holds.
Subgrade left ready to build on
The area is graded and compacted after removal, so a paver, slab, or landscape crew can start without a prep day.
Street and neighbors respected
Loading is staged to keep the roadway passable, and tracked debris is swept before the crew leaves each day.
Scope
What is included
Anything outside this list is quoted separately and approved before it happens.
Assessment
- Thickness and reinforcement check
- Square footage and tonnage estimate
- Access and staging plan
- Utility locating where digging is involved
Breakout
- Slab, footing, and curb demolition
- Hydraulic breaker and saw cutting
- Masonry and mortar-set stone removal
- Controlled cuts at tie-in lines
Removal
- Loading by machine or by hand
- Hauling to the correct facility
- Concrete and metal separated
- Soil and spoil pile haul-off
Finish
- Rebar ends and debris cleared
- Area graded to consistent elevation
- Compaction where a new base is planned
- Final sweep of the work zone
Process
How the work runs, step by step
Measure and check thickness
We confirm square footage, slab depth, and whether it is reinforced, since a mesh-reinforced four-inch patio and a rebar-laced driveway are very different jobs.
Plan the route
Saw cut lines, machine access, loading position, and container or truck staging are set so material moves in one direction and traffic stays clear.
Break and separate
The slab is broken into liftable sections, reinforcement is cut out, and concrete is kept clean of soil and debris as it is stacked.
Load and haul
Material is loaded and taken to a recycling facility or landfill as appropriate, with as many trips as the tonnage requires.
Grade and clean
The exposed subgrade is leveled and compacted as needed, remaining debris is picked out, and adjacent surfaces are swept.
Why hire a contractor
Where doing it yourself usually costs more
Weight is the whole story. A half-ton pickup is rated for roughly half a cubic yard of wet soil or a few square feet of broken slab, and a great many people discover that fact with a bent leaf spring in a transfer station line. Even setting the truck aside, hand-loading concrete is punishing work, and the hourly rate of a machine that loads in minutes is less than the cost of the days it replaces.
Disposal is the second thing that gets underestimated. Facilities separate clean concrete from mixed construction debris and charge accordingly, some will not accept soil at all, and a load contaminated with a few pieces of lumber can be reclassified at the gate. Knowing which facility in the East Bay takes what, and at what rate, is worth more on the invoice than the labor difference.
The third reason is what a slab hides. Under old concrete there is frequently an abandoned gas stub, an irrigation main, a sewer cleanout, or six inches of unsuitable fill that has to come out before anything new goes down. Breaking concrete without knowing what is underneath is how a straightforward removal turns into an emergency utility repair, and it is exactly what locating and careful breakout are designed to prevent.
Real projects
Dirt & Concrete Removal on site
The four stages a dirt & concrete removal job moves through on an East Bay property, in order.
Questions
Seven answers specific to dirt & concrete removal
It is driven by square footage, thickness, reinforcement, and how far the material has to travel to reach a truck. A street-level driveway is the cheapest case. A reinforced patio behind a narrow gate costs more per square foot because everything moves through a smaller opening. We measure and give a fixed number.
Yes, and they travel separately. Soil and clean concrete go to different facilities at different rates, so mixing them costs you money. If you have both a spoil pile and an old slab, we handle them in the same visit but keep the loads apart.
Usually yes, with a different method. Compact breakers, walk-behind equipment, and track loaders narrow enough for a standard gate handle most backyard slabs. Where nothing fits, the work becomes saw cutting and hand removal to a container at the curb, which we price honestly as the slower option.
Clean concrete goes to a recycling facility where it is crushed into aggregate base for road and construction use. Reinforcement steel goes to metal recycling. Material contaminated with soil, wood, or trash cannot be recycled, which is exactly why we sort on site.
If you want it filled, we can bring in the right material and compact it in lifts. Many clients prefer the subgrade left low and clean because a new slab, paver base, or planting bed needs specific prep. Tell us what is going in next and we will leave the elevation to suit it.
Removal itself often does not require a permit, but replacing a driveway approach, altering drainage, or changing the curb cut typically does, and the requirement varies by city. Since most removals are the first step of a replacement, we tell you what the follow-on work will need.
Asphalt is broken and hauled much like concrete, but it goes to a facility that recycles it into new pavement mix. It should not be mixed with concrete in the same load. If you have both an asphalt drive and a concrete walkway, we separate them at loading.
Related work
Services that usually go with this one
Coverage
Where we work
Dirt & Concrete Removal is available throughout our 20-mile radius. Access and haul distance are what move the price between addresses, not the city name.
Next step
Ready to price your dirt & concrete removal job?
Send dimensions and a couple of photos, or book a free site visit. You will get a fixed number and the assumptions behind it.