Residential & Commercial Slab Demolition Solutions
You might think breaking up concrete is straightforward—just grab a jackhammer and go for it. But there’s a lot more going on under those slabs than most people realize. Steel reinforcement mesh, waffle pods in newer homes, sometimes plumbing that wasn’t properly documented. We’ve seen blokes try the DIY approach and end up hiring us anyway after they hit a water main or couldn’t shift the rubble.
Our gear makes the difference. We’re running hydraulic breakers that’ll cut through reinforced concrete like it’s not even there. We handle the steel mesh removal properly, load everything onto trucks, and get it to licensed disposal facilities in the Hunter region. Your site ends up level, compacted, and ready for the next stage—not a crater full of broken concrete chunks. Plus we know where the services run in Newcastle suburbs, so we’re not guessing when we start breaking.
Types of Slabs We Remove
If you need excavation—maybe you’re dropping floor levels or creating basement space—we handle that too. The site gets leveled and compacted so the next tradies aren’t dealing with a mess. Around Newcastle, we’re used to sloping blocks, tight access, and needing to coordinate with plumbers and sparkies who’ve got services running through. We call Dial Before You Dig every time, no exceptions.
Our Demolition Process
First step is we come out and have a look at what you’re dealing with. Old waffle pod slab? Reinforced mesh? How thick is it? What’s the access like? We give you a straight quote—no surprises later on.
Before we break anything, we’re calling Dial Before You Dig. Water, gas, electrical—we locate everything so nothing gets damaged. Then it’s hydraulic breakers onto the concrete, cutting and removing the steel reinforcement as we go. All the rubble gets loaded onto trucks and taken to licensed facilities in the Hunter region.
If you need excavation work done at the same time, we handle that. Site gets leveled, compacted, and ready for whatever’s next—usually a new slab installation, but sometimes it’s other construction work. The point is, you’re not left with a bombsite. Everything’s cleaned up and prepped properly.
Replacement Slab Services
Here’s the thing—we don’t just remove slabs and disappear. Most of our customers are renovating or rebuilding, which means they need a new slab going in after the old one comes out.
We install new house slabs (waffle pod or raft, depending on your site), garage floor replacements, patio slab installations, and shed bases. Complete service from removal through to a quality replacement slab that’s built for Newcastle conditions. Proper reinforcement, proper drainage, proper thickness for the job. One contractor handling both ends means better coordination and no finger-pointing if something goes wrong.
Frequently Asked Questions About Slab Demolition in Newcastle
How long does it take to remove a house slab in Newcastle?
Most residential house slabs take us 1-2 days to fully remove and clear the site, depending on size and access. A typical three-bedroom home slab in somewhere like Adamstown or New Lambton is usually done in a day with our gear. If we’re doing excavation work at the same time or dealing with really thick reinforced concrete, it might stretch to two days. Weather doesn’t usually stop us—we’ve broken slabs in Newcastle summer heat and winter rain without issues.
What does slab removal cost around Newcastle?
Straight answer—it depends on the slab size, how thick it is, and what reinforcement’s in there. A standard garage slab removal usually runs a few thousand, while a full house slab for a typical Newcastle home sits somewhere in the mid-range depending on access and disposal costs. We give free quotes so you know exactly what you’re paying before we start. No hidden fees for “unexpected” steel mesh or disposal—that’s all factored in from the start.
How noisy and dusty is slab demolition?
Not gonna lie, breaking concrete makes noise and dust—but we manage both as best we can. The hydraulic breakers are loud for sure, so your neighbors in Merewether or Charlestown will hear it, but it’s not all day every day. We water down the concrete as we break it to keep dust under control, which matters around Newcastle with our coastal breezes that’ll carry dust everywhere. Most of our customers tell their neighbors beforehand and everyone’s fine with it since the work’s done quick.
What happens if there's asbestos in the old slab?
Asbestos in concrete slabs isn’t common, but we’ve found asbestos sheeting under slabs in older Newcastle homes from the 60s and 70s. If we spot anything suspect, we stop work immediately and bring in licensed asbestos removalists—we don’t mess around with that stuff. It adds time and cost, but it’s the only safe way to handle it. Once it’s cleared properly, we come back and finish the slab removal.
Can you remove just part of a concrete slab?
Yeah, we do partial slab removal all the time around Lake Macquarie and Newcastle for extensions or room additions. We’ll saw-cut the section that needs removing, break it out, and leave clean edges on what’s staying. The tricky bit is making sure the remaining slab stays structurally sound and matches up properly when your new section gets poured. We coordinate with your builder or engineer to get it right.
What time of year is best for slab demolition in Newcastle?
Honestly, we remove slabs year-round in Newcastle without major issues. Summer’s busy because everyone’s renovating, but the heat doesn’t stop the work—just means our crew drinks more water. Winter and spring are actually good times because there’s less construction demand, so you get quicker scheduling. The only thing we watch for is heavy rain turning your site into a bog, which can happen in Newcastle’s wetter months, but even then we can usually work around it.
