Hi all, we are thinking of buying a cottage renovation. Beautiful inside, however I have no idea of what i might be in for with the large amount of concrete to the side and at the back of the property.
We still want a drive, but also want to create a nice outdoor space for our family. Perhaps turf, flags, astro or decking. Does anyone have an idea of what this kind of stuff costs, even a ballpark figure?
Or ideas on what could be done to maximise the pretty large sq area we have.
Thoughts appreciated in advance!
by notoriousNXN
4 Comments
It is not going to be cheap. It depends on how thick the concrete is, if it is reinforced with mesh/rebar, access, location, and what is underneath. Hopefully, they’ve just poured it onto the ground, but it could be on a layer of hardcore that will need to go. The ground will be compacted underneath, which will take a lot of work to remedy.
For a 5x5m area with 10cm concrete, reinforced with mesh and 10cm hardcore, it could be £750-1000. You have good site access, so they should use an excavator breaker to smash it up, and they will be able to get a grab lorry to collect waste, which is much cheaper than skips.
You will likely put some paving back in so you could keep some of the hardcore, but I recommend getting them to remove everything and buying the right amount that you need when you need it. It’s very easy for a pile of rubble in a corner to become a permanent fixture.
It looks like an exciting project, so hopefully, you don’t run into any surprises under the concrete. I had a 40 m² slab, which was 15cm thick around a 15 cm edge, but 30 cm thick for the rest, which put the quote up from £1,500 to £2,000. The increase was to cover the extra two days they needed to do the job. The original estimate was two days’ work, but it ended up being fair.
Keep us updated with pictures if you go ahead with it.
what is the structure with the double green doors? Is it yours or does it belong to your neighbours.
have you checked for rights of way
If you are on a very tight budget, then build raised beds on top of the concrete around the edges. Spend a bit getting some holes punched through the concrete where you want some large trees. You have space to put in a nice above ground pool if you have kids. Use nice pavers on the concrete that still shows.
Medium budget – rip out the concrete around the edges, remediate the soil, and put in really lush borders and some trees. Nice pavers on the concrete that is left.
Some things you can do while not ripping up all the concrete – Above ground pool / Outdoor pub area / BBQ zone / hobby shed
All that concrete creates a very hot microclimate. You will need to keep this in mind if you are going to keep any significantly large area of concrete.
Holy crap that’s alot of concrete, that’s skips & mini digger with a breaker on time
I’ve a 5m by about 4m concrete patio out the back of my house long have I wanted to get it gone but a day with a jack hammer just is not appealing