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Concrete Removal & Demolition in Waterloo
We break out and haul away old driveways, patios, walkways, steps and slabs across Waterloo, from the older uptown streets and the rental belt by the universities to the west-end surveys. The city sits on the sand of the Waterloo Moraine, so once the old concrete is out we check the base and where water runs before anything new goes in. Quotes are free and written, with the breakout, hauling, disposal and grading itemized.
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Free · no pressure · 1 business day
Reviewed June 2026
Every job is priced individually, not off a price list. Tell us about yours and you get an accurate, no-pressure quote in writing.
Waterloo is built on sand. The city sits on the Waterloo Moraine, a thick deposit of glacial sand and gravel that drains far quicker than clay. That helps a slab, but sand also washes out where runoff is allowed to channel across it. See our Waterloo page for everything else we do in the city.
The removal itself follows our usual method: slab saw-cut where edges have to stay clean, broken out, cut free of its mesh and rebar, and hauled to a recycler. The full method is on our concrete removal and demolition page. This page covers what Waterloo ground and Waterloo homes change about that job.
Uptown and the campus rentals: old, worked-hard concrete
Uptown around King and Erb and the streets by the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier are full of older houses, many carved into rentals. Front walks have cracked and lifted, steps have sunk, and the foundations have settled. Often the right answer is to take the old walk or step out and start again.
We schedule the work around a house that stays lived in or tenanted, and a rental owner and an owner-occupant get the same written quote. When the old concrete is out, we look at the base and at where the downspouts empty. If a damp wall is part of the story, see basement waterproofing in Waterloo while the ground beside it is open.
Sand under the slab: check the base before you pour back
Sand drains well, so frost lifts a slab less here than on clay. The usual Waterloo failure is different: a slab edge or a set of steps sitting on ground that has quietly rinsed out from underneath. The low strips near Laurel Creek and Silver Lake also carry a higher water table than the dry sandhills above them.
With the old concrete gone, the base is open to look at. We rebuild it as a compacted granular base and put real attention on edges and on steering downspouts away from fresh concrete. See concrete driveways in Waterloo for what usually goes back in.
West-end surveys: plan the tear-out around the new pour
Vista Hills, Clair Hills and Laurelwood are subdivisions a builder finished recently, and the work there often runs the other way: a small builder pad or narrow driveway comes out to make room for a bigger one, or a patio. Doing the tear-out and the new pour as one job means the base is rebuilt while the ground is open. See concrete patios in Waterloo for the patio side.
A small machine needs about a 36 inch gate. Where it cannot get through, the concrete is broken by hand and carried out, which takes longer. We decide the machine path at the site visit. Small jobs, like one walkway or an old shed pad, are welcome. We reply to every request within one business day.
Straight answers
Can you take out concrete at a Waterloo rental that stays tenanted?
Yes. Much of our Waterloo work is on older houses near the campuses. We schedule the work around the people living there, and you get a free written quote after a site visit.
Waterloo is sandy ground. Does that change what happens after the old slab is out?
Yes. Sand drains well, but it washes where runoff channels across it. With the old concrete gone, we check the base and where the downspouts empty, and we rebuild a compacted granular base before anything new goes in.
Can you take out concrete in a backyard with a narrow gate?
Yes. Our smallest machines clear about a 36 inch gate. If there is no machine access, we break the concrete by hand and carry it out. It takes longer, so we put it in the written quote after the site visit.
How much does concrete removal cost in Waterloo?
The thickness of the slab, how much mesh and rebar is in it, and how a machine reaches it set most of the cost. A flat rate posted online would only mislead you. You get a free written quote after a site visit, with breakout, hauling, disposal and grading itemized, and the number on the quote is the number you pay unless you change the job.
What happens to the old concrete?
Clean concrete goes to a recycler and comes back as road base. The mesh and rebar are cut free and recycled on their own.
Keep reading
- Concrete Removal & Demolition across Southern OntarioThe full removal method: locates, saw cuts, rebar, recycling and grading.
- Concrete Contractors in WaterlooEverything else we pour and repair in Waterloo, from the uptown rentals to the west-end surveys.
- Concrete Patios in WaterlooA heaved or too-small patio out, a new one sloped off the wall in.
- Basement Waterproofing in WaterlooIf the old slab sent water to an older wall, fix the wall while the ground is open.
Tell us about the job.
Send the details and we'll get back to you within one business day with next steps. If water is coming in right now, check the box and we flag it urgent.
Get a straight quote
Free · no pressure · 1 business day