Demolition & Cementing

[rk604]

Hey All,

Family just moved in to a new place last summer and we were looking to expanding our parking area in the backyard. It is currently sitting with a single wooden car port drilled down to a cemented area. We have a large grass area and is looking to convert some of the area to cement to provide a larger cemented area.

We've had a few quotes from contractors to have it done around 6-7000$, with them doing the following work:
- Demolishing old car port
- Removing scraps of old car port
- Expanding entrance area (currently only enough room for a single car to go in/out)
- Prepping area for cement, and also providing water ways to sewers.
- Removing the existing concrete stairs/gate/wall on the left hand picture there)
- Cementing
- Removal of tree (about 4-6inches in diameter)

Is this a reasonable fair price for the current amount of work? Keep in mind that it is an older home in Burnaby. Small inside, but larger yard.


Thanks in advance!

Updated:
Here's a front view of the car port about to be removed, PLUS the concrete gate piece that has 2 small stairs that will be all flattenned. The cemented flat area will reach about one step to the left of the gate, allowing more room for multiple vehicles. We're also planning to do a gate after finishing, but figure it'd be much easier and cheaper to do things seperately.

[fliptuner]

got any pics?

[rk604]

updated!

[G-spec]

my dad's company has done a few of these, I remember specifically I demolished one exactly like yours all by myself with nothing more than a hammer and crowbar, had to use sawzaw to cut through some bigger pieces then loaded the scrap up for the garbage depot, it only took a few hours doing it by myself... that looks to be roughly 2 maybe 3 garbage depot loads in a normal size cargo van

so I guess what they're charging a lot for then is the cementing and digging, I don't think all that is a few grand though, and also there isn't much to spend in materials on this type of job it's about $200+ roughly for disposal fees, and anywhere between $500 and $1000 in materials, so basically you're paying 5-6 grand on labor, which is a tad bit high especially when the majority of the labour is not that difficult, like I said took me a few hours myself to do

that's my honest answer to you since I'm in this business

[MindBomber]

I find the quote fair, but it's a bit hard to judge without more details and a walk around the area.

[rk604]

If we had the tools and the time, I honestly wouldn't mind hackin and bashing and something. Unfortunately we don't, and investing in one will only end up in more storage space in the end.


Got a name and number to your dad's company?

Originally Posted by G-spec

my dad's company has done a few of these, I remember specifically I demolished one exactly like yours all by myself with nothing more than a hammer and crowbar, had to use sawzaw to cut through some bigger pieces then loaded the scrap up for the garbage depot, it only took a few hours doing it by myself... that looks to be roughly 2 maybe 3 garbage depot loads in a normal size cargo van

so I guess what they're charging a lot for then is the cementing and digging, I don't think all that is a few grand though, and also there isn't much to spend in materials on this type of job it's about $200+ roughly for disposal fees, and anywhere between $500 and $1000 in materials, so basically you're paying 5-6 grand on labor, which is a tad bit high especially when the majority of the labour is not that difficult, like I said took me a few hours myself to do

that's my honest answer to you since I'm in this business

[E-40six]

are you looking to have the trees removed to widen the whole parking area?

[blkgsr]

that's atleast a couple hundre dollars in disposal....the guy will probably bring in a small bin for the day to dump it all

as for the stairs, if you want those removed, then a jack hammer will be required

there will be base material required to properly prep for the new concrete pad

couple meters in concrete will easy cost a regular guy $700+

then the added plubing to put in a drain and connect to either an exisiting drain or where ever he was going to dump the water

$6000 might be a bit much but everyones out to make a living

[melloman]

$6000+ is expensive.
The most expensive thing the contractor is paying for is the concrete..
Other then that your money will be going to labour.

Disposal, concrete base, and equipment rentals should only be around $1000.
Lets go with a high number... $1000 for concrete.. Acouple of PVC pips to connect a new drain in.. it shouldn't be more then $4000, IMO.

But hey, like everybodys saying.. the contractor has to make a living, your just paying the price for someone else to do it.

[suzuka84]

do it yourself first. demo is easy. once you tire of it then call in the professionals to finish the job. it's very rewarding to do home improvements

[E-40six]

To be honest, I believe 6000 for the job is a decent price

People fail to realize that the disposal part alone would be easily $1000.
because you're going to need 2 separate roll off bins for your job. You'll need a 10 yard concrete bin, and a 30 yard demo bin. Those bins alone will be easily $800-$900 if you do not go overweight.
If you dont want to rent a bin, you can load up a pickup truck and make multiple runs to the transfer station. The true disposal fee for all of that is in the $300-400.00 range. you'll also need to factor in the truck rental cost and your time.

Once you finish demolishing the structure and concrete pad which would most likely need a skidsteer with a jackhammer attachment. You could get it cheaper if your contractor is just going to sledge it with a couple of guys. The trees will have to be removed including its roots system. This has got to be the best part, pulling roots!

Once you get all the fun smashy stuff out of the way, you will need have the area dug down to accommodate the road base/crush rock and then have it graded so water properly drains. Roadbase is cheap, you can get buy for approximately $5/tonne but the trucking fee will be around $100-150. Crush rock is expensive at $35/yard and you will also have to pay delivery on that.

after all that you can start your pour and once your concrete is dried, you will need to seal it. With all materials considered, the contractor is hovering around $2500ish in expenses before labour and equipment rental costs.

and remember, contractors aren't out to make an hourly wage they are a business and you need their expertise to have everything done properly otherwise you'll have a cracked pad after a year or 2.

[rk604]

Originally Posted by E-40six

are you looking to have the trees removed to widen the whole parking area?

Yes. Our current entrance is about 1.5-1.7x the width of a car. Looking to widen the entrance to about 2-2.5x. It's a bit difficult because of the cements stairs on the left hand side. Plus we're removing parts of the trees on the left hand side that's NOT shown in the picture here
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[rk604]

Originally Posted by suzuka84

do it yourself first. demo is easy. once you tire of it then call in the professionals to finish the job. it's very rewarding to do home improvements

I agree...except I'm a student, also working full time. Just trying to get a little more info for my parents, as they are the type to just spend without doing a bit of research. I will take your advice and start demolishing the wooden pieces, as well as the trees if possible. At least that'll reduce the cost a bit.
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[rk604]

Thanks everyone for your input!
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[catalin]

If you'd like to try another contractor you can contact my friend Tony Rodriguez who owns Firmbuilt Construction at 604-992-4690 or Firm Built Construction Ltd. Home he does great work and has been in the industry for over 15 years.
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[rk604]

I'll take a look, but we've gotten quotes from a few contractors, so we have a general idea of how much it cost. Don't think the rents want to contact more contractors to go through the quotes again.

Thanks though!
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