What Equipment Do I Need for Concrete Demolition?

Breaking a driveway or a garage slab is a hydraulic breaker on a skid steer, a mini to sort and load, and a dump trailer that is rated for concrete. Breaking a three-story structure is not this list. If the slab has rebar, budget time. If it has utilities under it, budget 811 and a new plan.

Equipment for concrete demolition

Primary machines

Skid-steer hydraulic breaker

Primary

Breaker on S550/T550 class. Confirm hydraulic flow. Tracks if you still care about the yard.

The actual demolition tool for slabs, footings, and approaches.

Skip it when the concrete is already in rubble and you only need to load.

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Mini excavator

Primary

E35 for thin walks; 305.5 for driveways and footings.

Pry, sort rebar, and load the trailer without a full-size excavator.

Skip it when the breaker is on a loader that can also load the trailer in open space.

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Dump trailer

Primary

7×14 (14k). 6×12 fills in two scoops and then you are overweight.

Concrete leaves or it becomes a new landscape feature.

Skip it when a debris box rated for concrete is already on site.

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Optional / nice to have

Compact track loader

Optional

T550 class.

Host the breaker and carry rubble when the mini cannot get in.

Skip it when the breaker is already on the only loader you have room for.

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Typical pairing

Breaker on a CTL + 7×14 dump is the driveway-demo pair. Add the mini when there is rebar to sort or a footing to pry. Saw-cut the keep-lines before you start pounding.

Breaker first, loader second

The skid-steer hydraulic breaker does the fracture. The mini with a thumb sorts steel and loads. Trying to “just use the excavator bucket” on a 6-inch reinforced slab is how you spend a day and a pin.

Haul-off is the cost

Concrete is heavy. A 7×14 dump with a real payload rating still fills faster than people think. Several legal loads beat one citation. Recycle if you can; do not bury it in the backyard.

Edges against things you want to keep

Saw-cut if you are matching to remaining slab. We do not list concrete saws as a class — many crews bring their own. The breaker is a blunt instrument next to a foundation you are keeping.

FAQ

Can a mini excavator break a driveway without a breaker?

Thin, unreinforced maybe. A real reinforced driveway wants the breaker. Rent it.

What about interior slab in a warehouse?

Electric or a plan for exhaust, plus floor loading for the machine you bring in. We will not send a diesel CTL into an occupied food plant without that conversation.