Concrete Demolition in Burns Harbor, Indiana: When a Patio

Burns Harbor sits on the Lake Michigan shore in Porter County, Indiana. So winters here drop lake-effect snow on patios and walks, then thaw it, then freeze the wet slab again. We have pulled up flatwork after that cycle lifted the edges and opened cracks through the middle. Concrete Demolition in Burns Harbor is the job we set up when the slab has moved. A patch won’t hold.

We have seen original pours still in place on older homes in town. After enough winters, a service walk can rise at the edge and miss the step. A patio can tip until one corner holds water. Because that concrete doesn’t sit flat on its base anymore, a surface patch follows the same crack. Then the patch lets go, and the edge is a trip hazard again. So we get asked to look at that flatwork once the snow is gone.

Concrete Demolition in Burns Harbor After Lake-Effect Winters

Lake-effect snow and thaw leave the slab wet through the cold months. When water in a joint or under a thin patio freezes, it expands and lifts the panel. After the thaw, the piece settles off level and the crack stays open. So the next wet spell runs into the same gap. We have broken out patios in Burns Harbor where the top looked even from the yard. The whole panel rocked underfoot.

When a patio or walk has heaved, new material on top has nothing stable to bond to. We take the failed section out. Concrete Demolition in Burns Harbor on these jobs means the full panel comes out. For example, a heaved service walk may have to come out from the stoop to the drive. The lift runs the length of the pour. Upper walks get the same check if they dropped with the patio.

Then we plan the break-out and the pour so we get in and out as the job allows. The finished slab still has to be done right. So we don’t rush the base just to clear the yard. A downspout that dumps on the patio edge is something we point out while we are there. Because that water keeps the joint wet all winter.

Patio and Walk Replacement After Concrete Demolition in Burns Harbor

On tear-out day we mark the heaved panels and saw-cut where they meet concrete that still sits tight. Then we break the slab and haul the pieces off. After we haul the old concrete off, we look at the base. We dig out soft spots and put compacted stone back before the new pour.

We have pulled slabs that sat high at the house and low at the yard. When we have the concrete out, we can see if the base under it is still firm. So the new pour doesn’t go back on soft ground.

Concrete Demolition in Burns Harbor on a home job can cover the patio and the service walk. So they come out together when they went in as one run. We form the new exterior flat work so it meets the step and sheds water off the slab. Some owners ask about stamped concrete or an acid stain on the new patio. We can add that if we set the scope before we form.

Our concrete demolition services cover removal and the pour that follows. Because Cabe’s Concrete is family owned, the same crew that breaks the slab also pours it back. Since 2006 we have worked across Northwest Indiana and the Tri-State area, and we work seven days a week. We write the material and the hours on the quote line by line. We don’t inflate the price of material to pick up a few extra dollars.

The residential concrete work around a house includes patios and service walks. The photo gallery shows tear-out and pour-back jobs we have finished. We still do concrete repair where a separate panel is tight and only a small break needs work. Concrete Demolition in Burns Harbor is the removal step on a heaved patio before the new pour.