How to Recycle a Concrete Patio
Concrete is one of the more durable materials used to make patio surfaces, but even it does not last forever. Eventually it will crack or buckle with the weather, or tree roots may undermine it. When this happens, it may be time to replace your patio with something new. Rather than break up and haul all that concrete to a landfill though, consider recycling it as a versatile building material for your landscape. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Jackhammer (optional, can be rented)
- Sledgehammer
- Chisels
- Pry bars
- Safety goggles
- Ear protection
- Cutoff saw (optional)
- Heavy gloves
- Wheelbarrow or heavy-duty garden cart
- Shovel
- Rake or hoe
- Spirit level
Instructions
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Rent a jackhammer (or hire someone to operate one for you), or use a sledgehammer, chisels and pry bar to break up the concrete into manageable pieces. Keep in mind that many concrete structures---including patios---contain rebar (steel bars) and other metal to increase their strength. If your patio contains rebar and/or wire mesh you need to cut that as you break up the pad, using a cutoff saw.
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Find an area in your yard where the landscape would benefit from a low stacked wall or flower bed. Use a wheelbarrow or heavy garden cart to carry your "new" free landscape material (concrete chunks) to an out-of-the-way spot near that area. (Sort the concrete pieces by size, for building convenience.)
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Prepare the area for your wall or raised bed by removing the turf with a shovel (or turf cutter if available) in the area directly beneath the future wall.
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Level the soil using a rake or hoe. Check level by laying a scrap piece of lumber across the spot and placing a spirit level on top.
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Lay largest slabs directly on the ground and stack each piece in the classic "one over two" method for building masonry walls. (That is, place upper layers so that the top "rock" is positioned over the crack formed between two lower "rocks.") The base should be wider than the top for stability.
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Stack the pieces until you run out of concrete. Push a planting medium (soil, clay or whatever you and your plants prefer) into large crevices to create planting pockets.
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Adorn your new wall with ornamental grasses, lacy ferns or airy wildflowers. Growing things around the wall will soften the edges of the concrete and give a more natural look.
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Tips & Warnings
If you do not need another flowerbed or have no place for a wall, use the slabs to create a stepping stone walkway. Lay slabs out on the path where you want them and mark around their perimeters. Remove and dig out the soil under them, and place them back in the holes.
You could also reuse them for a brand new patio. When the old patio area is cleared, excavated, and leveled, re-lay the pieces in a "flagstone" pattern and grout or plant mosses or creeping thyme between them in the cracks. Using this same idea, create a flagstone drive as did a Texas couple, featured in Artistic Gardens (See link in References section).
Another way to recycle concrete is to use it exactly like large stones in new concrete structures. Just break them into chunks of the right size and add to wet concrete for whatever you are making.
