$130 to $220 per m², supplied and laid. A guide until the block is measured; the written quote holds.
Half the concreting in the outer east is replacement, because the suburbs were built out decades ago and the original surfaces are at the end of their lives. Cracked driveways that drop at the crossover, paths lifted by tree roots, shed slabs that were never thick enough: they all come out the same way, and what matters is what happens before the new concrete goes down.
The break out
The old surface is broken out, loaded and carted for disposal, including the mesh or reo in it if the original crew used any. Edges against buildings and fences are cut clean rather than crashed through, and services under the old slab are located before anyone swings a breaker.
The part that stops it happening again
A failed slab is a message about the ground under it. Replacement is the one chance to answer it: soft spots dug out, base material brought in and compacted where the ground needs it, falls corrected so water stops pooling, and steel mesh in the new slab as standard. The specification sets out exactly what goes under every surface we pour.
What it costs
Removal adds $35 per square metre, including disposal, to the rate for whatever replaces it: a replaced driveway runs $130 to $220 per square metre all-in by finish, a replaced path $125 to $165. Treat every rate as a guide until the block is measured; the quote written after the site measure holds. The cost guide breaks the numbers down and the calculator prices your job with removal switched on.
Where we pour concrete removal and replacement
Croydon, Croydon Hills, Croydon North, Croydon South, Heathmont, Ringwood and nowhere else: one council, known inside out.