apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I'd simply cut the concrete into large-ish pieces that could be reused outside as paving for a patio or driveway - to look like flagstones with grass, thyme or some other growie thing in between the pieces.

I had a friend who smashed up his concrete backyard and then did some interesting landscaping: a raised deck and a small but totally adorable "rolling" lawn. The used concrete was stored under the deck and as height for the lawn, with dirt and then sod on top. He also built some very high raised beds around the perimeter and used the smashed concrete underneath as drainage. I have done a bit of the same in my own backyard.

Honestly, I work in construction and I have never heard of outdoor concrete beeing recycled quite like that for indoor use. If you want concrete countertops, you want poured in place concrete in a form for a table/counter and finished. Yes, concrete can be ground up and reused -- usually for outdoor and commercial use. You don't know the strength (PSI) of the concrete that was poured or the shape of it on the bottom/. If I was to do anything, I would do what bepsf suggests with flagstones

Concrete is relatively cheap. I would go with fresh concrete. Don't recycle it for indoor use.
My .02

Good Luck!

My father, a contractor, re-uses concrete as gravel for under soil drainage - or anywhere else gravel is useful. Recently he finished a suburban underground leaching pond that used gravel as one of the many substrates. He's a bit nuts though...

Getting the steel out is one of the challenges...

In the 40s my family's contractor used stone sized pieces of broken concrete (8 x 10 x 8-ish) to make "stone retaining walls" If it's broken up into manageable sized pieces perhaps someone else can use it if you can't.

I concur with bepsf. In the latest issue of Sunset, a couple did the same with their yard:

http://www.sunset.com/sunset/garden/article/0,20633,1731852,00.html

A concrete slab like this has a rough underside, which makes it nearly useless. Especially as breaking it into useful pieces is hard. Using the broken-up bits to pave a path makes the most sense. The remaining rubble can be used as 'filler'. Hardly re-use though, and you will hate the pieces of concrete you encounter when gardening.

For interior use, it will be too thick and rough, I think.

I second the suggestion to cut slabs for reuse as pavers or other garden elements. I would not vote for bringing outdoor concrete inside for use in bathrooms and kitchens (concrete is porous and does not make a great kitchen surface -- it needs to be resealed a couple times a year, last I read).

I would suggest hiring a landscape designer (as opposed to an architect) to help concept ways in which you could repurpose the concrete in your landscape -- seating, pavers, fountains, retaining walls for raised planting areas, etc.

I have experience with concrete removal. Here's a little about my what I learned in removing a 10 x 10 concrete pad from my yard, having it replaced with sand and flagstone, and planting it with thyme and scotch moss.

1. That which appears as a smooth, slim, "sliceable" concrete slab may not in fact be so. The perimeter of the concrete area may have been extended over what was there previously, and in reality you may have a big mess underneath to which the overlay of tidy concrete has been bonded. Given that your place is @ 1920, I'd wager on there being lots of mess underneath.

2. Concrete removal is not cheap, it takes a long time, and jackhammers are incredibly noisy. It's worthwhile, but expect a couple of weeks given all that you have.

3. Breaking up concrete into neat useable slabs is not easy, and you're likely to spend a lot more money for that type of effort and careful slicing.

4. You have to insist on ALL the concrete being removed if you want to be able to plant trees, shrubs, etc. Removing the top 10 inches works for lawns, but not much else. (The jerks I originally hired --and subsequently sued-- broke up the concrete and then buried it in my yard under 5" of topsoil and peagravel. Apparently they didn't think I would notice.)

5. After all the concrete is removed, you have to haul in planting soil, sand, and (in my case) road base. Road base is laid first (keeps the ground solid and level). After the roadbase is compacted, you lay 2" - 3" of sand. After the pavers are laid and leveled on top, you fill in between with more sand/planting mix and plant with thyme (and/or mosses).

6. Be certain that drainage is graded *away* from your house's foundation. You don not want water to pool around your house.


CUTE CUTE CUTE house. Congrats on your (possible) purchase.

Definately demo the concrete in your yards. The concrete in the driveway is in great shape. I reccomend keeping that in tact. A driveway in good shape adds value to a propeerty. Even if you do not plan on using it, you can always pretty it up with planters, pots and and outdoor furniture.

Do I mind if I ask what city you live in?

i agree keep the driveway! adds value and is useful... reduces waste. you can stain the concrete in safe ways with non acid stains. you could do a pattern or just change the color if you want change.

put an add up on freecycle and craigslist and your local recycle center that you will have broken concrete. two summers ago we salvaged all around networking with concrete suppliers and contractors to get load upon load of broken up patio and driveway concrete. we used it to terrace a back yard and it worked out great! if you can be flex on your timing you can be happy and make someone else's project happy.

if you keep the driveway, then depending on the size of your patios you might be able to do some raised beds and create interest in your back and front yards.

i 100% agree with the earlier poster that you want a landscaper who does the work. don't waste your TIME or money on an architect who won't be doing the work.

good luck!

I'm going to have to disagree with Chaletprincess, who I'm pretty sure misinterpreted the earlier comment (which meant to get someone who focused on the site as opposed to the building) - as a young landscape architect, I do not provide contracting services but I pride myself on being able to far exceed the design capabilities of most landscape contractors. There are some contractors that have a good sense for design by my experience in the profession tells me that they are the exception not the rule.

Generating ideas, defining an overall concept, developing materials palettes - these things do take time on the front end and will almost always result in a superior end product. There are always a number of "a-ha!" moments during the process and you will always have to solve things in the field but a good concept will help guide you every step of the way.