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Well, 20 years is not nothing so maybe you'll be okay. It won't really be feasible to make the base thicker if it should have been (the only way to do that would be to take it all out and excavate more) but you could just go with what you have I suppose. Yes, the concrete should have similar base. You will probably muss it a little bit removing the concrete so you may need some material or at least the machine to compact the top once. Plus you usually run it over the pavers at the end. In some ways pavers will be more forgiving to frost (no cracks like a slab could have) and in some ways less (instead they can heave individually and get all uneven).
It's not that your pad is large as a driveway, it's that it's a fairly large surface for pavers as DIY. It's doable but still a lot of labor. I did roughly 200 sq ft of patio so you're talking over 3x that, seems large. Obviously my patio could also be seen as small in the scheme of patios I suppose, deepening upon house, so hey, it's all relative.
Under $3000 would be about $4 or so per sq ft. That sounds pretty cheap. I priced pavers and thought about them for patio but ended up doing flagstone (not for price reason) so maybe my price memory is off or I was just looking at mor expensive ones. But I remember them costing somewhat more than that.
As I said, good luck. The payoff is good if you can make it work, as you'll probably save a lot of money and have a nice looking drive. But do get a few quotes for having it done, the whole job not just the demo. I didn't do that and things took me a lot longer than I thought and I might not have saved enough money in the long run. I'll never really know because I didn't get any quotes. The labor for someone experienced at laying the blocks might be less than you think. Same for the demo. Plus it'll be faster.
Yes, the time required to do the job seems a little daunting to me, but at the same time, I will be retired when I start and it should also be good exercise. Yea, I just checked the price of pavers again and 3K is about right for the materials - no labor of course.
Yes, the time required to do the job seems a little daunting to me, but at the same time, I will be retired when I start and it should also be good exercise.
Hmmm...you're retirement age? That may change my suggestion to rent a jackhammer.
I guess you're the only one who can determine whether you're up to the task--but don't overdo it. You'll probably be using muscles you haven't used much in a while. Hey, there's no shame in hiring a couple of neighborhood kids to help you out!
Hmmm...you're retirement age? That may change my suggestion to rent a jackhammer.
I guess you're the only one who can determine whether you're up to the task--but don't overdo it. You'll probably be using muscles you haven't used much in a while. Hey, there's no shame in hiring a couple of neighborhood kids to help you out!
I've been tackling a similar project this winter, except in my case it was a patio, walkways, stairs and a retaining wall. All done with 16 lb sledge and pry bar. Total was about 300 sq ft, and most of it was 4" thick with no rebar. Any more than that and I'd have rented a jackhammer. It goes a lot faster if you have 2 people working it, with 1 person prying and another swinging the hammer. Otherwise you spend a lot of time going back and forth between prying, wedging and breaking.
The rebar reinforced sections were a nightmare. Lots of swinging before you even get it to crack - at least in my case where the previous owner used an unnecessary amount expecting these paths to last for a few hundred years! Anything that had an existing crack opening up was much easier.
Look around the yard and see if there's anything you can fill in with the debris, or a grade you can level/terrace. If you're lucky you'll only have to move the pieces once. Overall, it's not an easy job.
I'm going to join those that recommend a skid steer with attachments. They should be able to rip it apart, haul it away and give you a decent grade for your pavers, all in a day. If my math is right, you have about 17-20 tons of concrete there. Not going to be a fun job as a DIY without the heavier equipment.
Screw that. I removed my old concrete walkway, probably 25/30' long by 36" wide. It's 3 or 4 years later and I'm still sore. I wouldn't even fathom doing a driveway without some heavy duty equipment and a crew.
I removed a walkway when I was 32 to save money. It convinced me that I was no longer 22. I almost died and I even turned down sex five days later.
I removed a walkway when I was 32 to save money. It convinced me that I was no longer 22. I almost died and I even turned down sex five days later.
Ahem...TMI.
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