How do I charge for concete breaking and removal, help!!

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TRIVERS08

Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2008
Messages
13
..just wondering how much to charge for concrete removal, ie: breaking, trucking and dumping fees. Does anyone have a per sq foot formula?
 
Joined
Nov 1, 2007
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11
Unless you were there when they poured the concrete and know for certain what is in it, I would tread very carefully. There is no real standard for rebar and wire mesh or anything else they could have buried in it. The work I've bid out has been some drive way and sidewalk removal. I got dumpster prices, figured an average weight of 4 inch thick concrete, 50 lbs a square foot, and figured how many dumpsters I needed. The dumpsters can only be filled half full due to the weight. Took my normal rate $65 an hour, added the breaker rental and added 20% to everything. I was told I was too high. I would rather be too expensive and have some room than to bid short and try to bump somebody half way thru the job. An example of what can happen, my uncle had a decent sized construction company and was removing some docks and piers on the river for the city that had originally been put in place in the early 1900's. They were told verbally that it had nothing in it, the bid sheet read that it was clean but the bidder was responsible for confirming this for themselves. They were using a 300 series Kobelco excavator with a large hydraulic breaker for the unit, about half way thru the project they hit large power line buried in several feet of concrete and it exploded the tip of breaker, destroying it. Beware.
 

Tazza

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Staff member
Joined
Dec 7, 2004
Messages
16,839
Unless you were there when they poured the concrete and know for certain what is in it, I would tread very carefully. There is no real standard for rebar and wire mesh or anything else they could have buried in it. The work I've bid out has been some drive way and sidewalk removal. I got dumpster prices, figured an average weight of 4 inch thick concrete, 50 lbs a square foot, and figured how many dumpsters I needed. The dumpsters can only be filled half full due to the weight. Took my normal rate $65 an hour, added the breaker rental and added 20% to everything. I was told I was too high. I would rather be too expensive and have some room than to bid short and try to bump somebody half way thru the job. An example of what can happen, my uncle had a decent sized construction company and was removing some docks and piers on the river for the city that had originally been put in place in the early 1900's. They were told verbally that it had nothing in it, the bid sheet read that it was clean but the bidder was responsible for confirming this for themselves. They were using a 300 series Kobelco excavator with a large hydraulic breaker for the unit, about half way thru the project they hit large power line buried in several feet of concrete and it exploded the tip of breaker, destroying it. Beware.
I have to agree, charge on the higher side. A breaker is hard on your machine! The concrete will be hard on your bucket picking it up too.
 

BPS

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 31, 2008
Messages
57
I have to agree, charge on the higher side. A breaker is hard on your machine! The concrete will be hard on your bucket picking it up too.
My father in law is currently working on an indoor job where dust is an issue. To cut down on dust he rented a saw and cut the concrete into sections, nails a piece of angle iron to it and picks it up with the pallet forks. This is a 32,000 sq/ft section of concrete though w/o rebar. So far it seems very efficienct and relatively clean.
 

bobcat_ron

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Messages
334
My father in law is currently working on an indoor job where dust is an issue. To cut down on dust he rented a saw and cut the concrete into sections, nails a piece of angle iron to it and picks it up with the pallet forks. This is a 32,000 sq/ft section of concrete though w/o rebar. So far it seems very efficienct and relatively clean.
I charge $105 per hour for the breaker, and you would be very wise to get a Cat or Thomas skid steer as they are the only machines that I know (and trust) to handle a hammer with their open center hydraulic systems. A jack hammer of any size will wreak havoc on a Bobcat, that's one of the biggest reasons as to why I switched over to Cat.
 
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