Foundation RemovalSlabs, Footers, Stem Walls & Old Foundations
- Licensed C-11855 · CUC041521
- Family owned since 1978
- We own the transfer station
- Serving 4 Tampa Bay counties
Demolition
Foundation Removal in Clearwater & Tampa Bay
A foundation left in the ground is a problem deferred, not solved — it turns up under the next building’s footers, and by then it costs three times as much to deal with.
Foundation removal is the below-grade half of demolition: the slab, the footers, the stem walls and whatever else earlier construction left in the ground. Sometimes it comes with a structure we are demolishing; often it is its own job — a foundation left behind by a burned or long-gone building, a slab discovered during site work, or a lot that needs to be genuinely clean before a builder will price it.
The work is excavation as much as demolition. Footers in this region typically run 18 to 24 inches down, stem walls deeper, and the digging has to be done with locates complete — old foundations frequently have live or abandoned services running beside and through them. Our CUC041521 underground utility license means finding a live lateral next to an old footer is a task, not a stoppage.
What comes out is the material our yard is built for. Foundation concrete is dense, heavy and clean — exactly what crushes into road base. It goes back to our own transfer station rather than out at gate rates, and if you are building, it can literally return as the compacted base under the new slab.
The hole matters as much as the concrete. Backfill is placed and compacted in lifts, because loose-tipped fill under a future structure is how you buy a settlement problem. If your builder has a compaction spec, we work to it and document it.
Most demolition contractors pay a gate rate by the ton at a facility they do not own, add to it, and pass it on. Ours is the gate: the C&D transfer station on Keene Rd is ours, the concrete and block come back to be crushed, and the disposal line on the quote is what it actually costs.
What it costs
What drives a foundation removal quote
| Scope of job | What drives the number |
|---|---|
| House slab and footers | Footprint, footer depth, and haul volume |
| Stem wall or crawl-space foundation | Wall depth, pier count, and access for the excavator |
| Commercial foundation | Concrete volume, grade beams, and compaction requirements |
| Backfill and compaction | Fill quantity and whether a compaction spec applies |
Every demolition is quoted on site, free. Access, structure and what has to be protected move the number more than square footage does, which is why we walk it rather than price it down the phone.
How it works
What the job looks like
Locate
Utility locates run and old service routes traced — foundations and live lines keep close company.
Expose and break
Slab and footers exposed, broken out, and separated from the soil.
Remove to depth
Footers, stem walls, piers and grade beams excavated to their full depth, not snapped off at grade.
Haul and crush
Concrete to our own transfer station, crushed into base material.
Backfill and compact
The excavation filled in compacted lifts and graded off — to your builder’s spec where one exists.
What a quote covers
Included
- Utility locates before excavation
- Full-depth removal of slab, footers, stem walls and piers
- Hauling and crushing at our own transfer station
- Backfill compacted in lifts, to spec where one applies
- Final grading of the area
What changes the number
- Live and abandoned services running through or beside the foundation
- Footer and stem wall depth — deeper walls mean bigger excavation
- High water table on coastal lots, which changes excavation method
- Your builder’s compaction spec, agreed before backfill starts
- Whether crushed base returns to the site for the new construction
Questions
Foundation Removal FAQs
How much does foundation removal cost?
Footprint, depth and access set it. A slab-on-grade breaks out fastest; stem walls and footings mean excavation, and anything deep or heavily reinforced means more machine hours. Commercial foundations are quoted per site because depth and reinforcement vary too much to price any other way. The concrete goes back to our yard to be crushed, which keeps disposal out of the math, and the site estimate is free.
Do footers have to come out, or just the slab?
For buildable ground, everything comes out to full depth — footers snapped off at grade are exactly the buried surprise the next builder’s excavator finds. We remove to depth and backfill in compacted lifts.
Can you build on the ground afterwards?
Yes, when the backfill is compacted properly — which is the point of doing it in lifts. If your builder has a compaction spec, we work to it and document the result.
What about pipes running through the old foundation?
Common, and exactly why locates come before digging. We hold CUC041521 for underground utility work, so live and abandoned services are handled under the same contract.
What happens to the old concrete?
It is the best feedstock our crusher gets — dense and clean. It goes to our own yard, becomes road base, and can come back as the compacted base under whatever you build next.