1960s–80s Citrus Heights Concrete — What We Find at the Estimate
The pour era is consistent enough that we can scope most jobs accurately from photos and a tape measure. The variables that change pricing are thickness, reinforcing type, and what's underneath.
- Residential driveway slabs: 4-inch thick, broom-finished, typically poured monolithically with the side approach — most have transverse expansion joints every 8–12 ft
- Patio and walkway slabs: 3.5–4 inch thick, lighter reinforcing (or none in the oldest pours), often poured against the house foundation without an isolation joint — leading to cracking as the house settles independently
- Pool deck (around pool perimeter): typically 4-inch with light wire mesh, integral coping at pool edge or precast cap stones
- RV pad / side-yard slab: heavier thickness common — 5–6 inches with #3 or #4 rebar on 18- or 24-inch centers, often on a deeper compacted base
- Shop slabs (detached structure floors): 4-inch with wire mesh or 5-inch with rebar depending on intended use
- Reinforcing: 1960s pours often have no reinforcing or only mesh; 1970s–80s pours commonly have wire mesh; rebar appears more often in heavier slabs
- Sub-base condition: silica-cemented hardpan at 12–40 inches below grade in San Joaquin and Fiddyment soils — drainage perched on intact hardpan, so removing the slab often reveals localized water or saturated sub-base after a wet season
How We Break and Haul Citrus Heights Concrete
Method selection depends on slab size, access width, reinforcing density, and what's adjacent. The wrong method costs more, not less.
- Jackhammer (handheld 60–90 lb): used for slabs under 200 sf, tight access locations, walkways alongside structures, and edge work where larger equipment can't reach
- Skid steer with hydraulic breaker: standard production tool for driveways and patios 200–1,500 sf — breaks 50–150 sf per hour depending on thickness
- Mini excavator with breaker (3–5 ton): used for thicker slabs, rebar-heavy pours, and jobs where the same machine loads debris into the truck
- Concrete saw cuts: applied where we need a clean edge (slab removed up to a line, remainder stays), or to score thick rebar-reinforced slabs before breaking
- Rebar handling: rebar is cut and pulled from the broken pieces, bundled, and hauled separately to a steel recycler — most yards pay scrap rates
- Loading: 14- or 16-yard dump trucks; broken concrete from a typical 2-car driveway (~700 sf, 4-inch thick) fills about half a 14-yard truck
- Haul: clean rebar-free pieces to Teichert or Granite Construction aggregate recycling sites off Hwy 50 / I-80 (15–20 min south/west) at lower tipping rates; mixed loads to WPWMA in Lincoln (~25 mi NE)
What Concrete Removal Costs in Citrus Heights
Pricing per square foot is the standard quote unit. Thickness, reinforcing, access, and disposal distance are the cost drivers we line-item.
- Standard 4-inch residential slab (driveway, patio, walkway): $4–$7 per square foot
- Heavy 5–6 inch slab with rebar (RV pad, shop floor): $6–$10 per square foot
- Pool deck removal (4-inch with wire mesh, around existing pool): $5–$8 per square foot — same range whether or not the pool itself is also being removed
- Tight-access walkway removal (between house and fence, jackhammer-only): $7–$12 per square foot — labor-heavy
- Saw cutting for clean edges: $5–$9 per linear foot of cut
- Demo and removal of integral curbing or formed edges: $8–$15 per linear foot
- Driveway apron at street right-of-way: handled separately — requires Citrus Heights Public Works encroachment permit if the city sidewalk or curb is affected
- Disposal: included in per-square-foot rate; we recycle clean concrete at lower-tip-rate aggregate yards when load size and rebar separation justify it
- Minimum job: typically $1,200–$1,800 for small slab removals — covers mobilization, equipment, and disposal floor
Permits and Sub-Base Considerations
Routine slab removal usually doesn't trigger a permit, but anything affecting grade, drainage, right-of-way, or the city's tree ordinance does. We assess at the estimate.
- Citrus Heights Building & Safety (citrusheights.net) — no permit typically required for in-kind slab removal that doesn't change grade or drainage; permit required if the removal is part of a larger project (ADU prep, retaining wall, new structure)
- Public Works encroachment permit — required if the work affects the public right-of-way (sidewalk, curb, gutter, street approach apron)
- Tree Preservation Ch. 106.39 — applies if slab removal involves equipment access or grading within the Tree Protection Zone of a regulated oak; we coordinate ahead
- Sub-base after removal: most Citrus Heights slabs sit on 2–4 inches of base rock over native silt-loam or clay loam (with hardpan at depth); we leave a clean sub-base graded for drainage unless the scope calls for full sub-base removal too
- Hardpan exposure: in some yards, removing the slab exposes intact hardpan that drains poorly — we discuss drainage implications at the estimate if the next use is irrigation-dependent landscape
- Repour prep: if a replacement slab is going in, we leave the sub-base graded and compacted to the spec the concrete contractor needs
Concrete Removal When ADU Site Prep Is the Goal
Many Citrus Heights concrete removals are the first step in an ADU project. Coordinating the slab removal, sub-base preparation, and ADU foundation requirements at the front end saves rework later.
- ADU foundation engineer typically specifies the required sub-base condition before pouring the new foundation — we coordinate at the estimate to make sure the post-removal grade meets that spec
- Compaction testing: if the slab void will receive engineered fill that supports structural load, a third-party engineer documents compaction with a stamped report for the ADU permit submittal
- Utility coordination: old slabs often have buried conduit, irrigation lines, or sewer cleanouts running underneath; we locate and protect before breaking
- Tree clearance: ADU placement may be constrained by Tree Protection Zones from mature oaks on the lot — we flag any Ch. 106.39 conflicts at the estimate
- Driveway retention: existing driveway concrete may stay if the ADU access will use it; demo scope is a separate decision from main slab removal
- Setback verification: the ADU buildable envelope (4-ft side and rear setbacks under state law) defines what slab area actually needs to come out — we don't quote demo of concrete the ADU can't be built over anyway
Frequently asked questions
How much does concrete removal cost per square foot in Citrus Heights?
Standard 4-inch residential concrete (driveways, patios, walkways) runs $4–$7 per square foot in Citrus Heights, including breaking, debris haul, and disposal. Heavy 5–6 inch slabs with rebar reinforcing — typical for RV pads and shop floors — run $6–$10 per square foot. Tight-access walkways that can only be jackhammered run $7–$12 per square foot because the labor doesn't scale with equipment. A typical 2-car driveway in Sunrise Oaks or Birdcage Heights (about 700 sf) runs $3,000–$5,000 all-in. We pick the disposal site — Teichert or Granite Construction aggregate yards off Hwy 50 / I-80 for clean rebar-free concrete (lower tipping rates), or WPWMA in Lincoln for mixed loads — and the choice is included in the quoted square-foot rate.
Do I need a permit to remove my old driveway in Citrus Heights?
Usually not for in-kind removal that doesn't change grade or drainage. Citrus Heights Building & Safety doesn't require a permit for routine slab removal that leaves the sub-base intact. However, you do need a Public Works encroachment permit if the work affects the public right-of-way — the city sidewalk, curb, gutter, or driveway approach apron at the street. If the concrete removal is part of a larger project — ADU prep, new retaining wall, regrading — the larger project's permit covers the demo. We assess permit need at the estimate and pull anything required as part of standard scope.
What happens to the broken concrete from my Citrus Heights job?
Clean rebar-free concrete pieces typically go to Teichert or Granite Construction aggregate recycling yards off Highway 50 or I-80, about 15–20 minutes south or west of Citrus Heights. These yards crush the concrete back into recycled aggregate base used in new road construction, and tipping rates are lower than mixed C&D facilities. Mixed loads — concrete with attached rebar, masonry block, or other debris — go to the WPWMA Materials Recovery Facility at 3195 Athens Avenue in Lincoln, about 22–25 miles northeast. WPWMA's dedicated C&D recycling facility opened in February 2024 and accepts concrete, wood, drywall, and asphalt streams. We separate rebar where the volume justifies it (rebar bundles go to a steel scrap yard) and pick the disposal site based on load type, distance, and current rates.
Will removing my concrete patio expose drainage problems in my Citrus Heights yard?
Sometimes. Citrus Heights soils — San Joaquin and Fiddyment series — carry a silica-cemented hardpan layer at 12–40 inches below grade. The hardpan drains poorly when intact, which means water tends to perch above it after the winter rainy season. An old patio slab sitting on this sub-base may have been masking saturated soil underneath. When we remove the slab, the underlying condition becomes visible — and if the next use is irrigation-dependent landscape or a new foundation, drainage strategy needs to be part of the plan. We flag this at the estimate when we see sub-base moisture indicators (efflorescence, plumbing condensate stains, vegetation patterns), and we discuss drainage options before breaking begins. Often the right answer is a French drain or swale incorporated into the next phase of the project.
How long does concrete removal take in Citrus Heights?
Most residential concrete removal jobs in Citrus Heights finish in 1–3 days of on-site work. A typical 700 sq ft driveway runs 1 day for breaking and haul. A larger patio and walkway combination (1,200–2,000 sf) runs 2 days. Pool deck removal coordinated with a pool demo runs 2–3 days as part of the larger job. The breaking phase is typically the same day as haul-out — we don't leave broken concrete piled on site overnight unless the job is large enough to require multiple truck trips. Permit timing isn't usually a factor since most in-kind slab removals don't require a permit; jobs that are part of larger ADU or addition projects move on those projects' permit timelines.