Bricks, Masonry, Asphalt and Concrete - cheapest way to get rid of a 12' x 12' below-grade concrete floor/walls

I built a shed 4' below grade using a 5" thick poured concrete slab floor over 2' rebars stuck into the ground.
For the walls (up to a few inches above grade) I used concrete block and filled each hole with concrete.
Above grade I just used stick/board/siding.

The shed started leaking (below grade, not the roof), I tried everything under the sun to correct the leaking but it just kept getting worse.
When my wife found out from a few of the basement waterproofing companies that the only way to correct it was to spend several grand to run irrigation lines along the sides, she blew a gasket and ordered me to get rid of the shed and plant grass seed.

So I put up a free ad and someone came and grabbed the upper portion (above-grade stick/board siding) of the shed. So now I'm left with basically a 12' x 12' swimming pool (only a couple inches of water).

I know that a demolition company would probably charge a lot to to buldoze it over and haul away all the broken concrete so does anyone else have any suggestions on how to possibly do this cheaper?

thanks,

-MC

The the 12' x 12' swimming pool into a landscape feature my making it a fish/lanscape pond.

Put in 2 or 3 feet of sand and then buy a large plastic free form pond mold. Set it in place and fill around it and the rest of the way with more sand. Add plants, fish and a pump. Lay some pavers and landscape the area. An alternate would be to buy the plastic liner and make the pond to your own shape. The bigger it is, the less sand you will have to bring in for filling purposes.

Let your wife pick out the fish and plants.

It will be much easier than trying to remove what you built if you have it a solid and tied together as well as you say.


Dick

Dick has an excellent idea - and point. There's a reason it's called concrete. :)

If you are intent on removing it, there are less expensive ways than having a contractor do it for you, but none of them are easy. :wall:

You can rent an air-driven jack-hammer and hammer it out. To get the pieces small enough for you to lift, you'll have to hammer a while. This is probably the least expensive option that is also feasible for a single person.

The next option costs a bit more, but is a bit easier. You can rent a small backhoe with a jack-hammer attachment. The loader can be used to pick up the pieces.

I also recommend renting a dump trailer so you don't have to load/unload by hand.

As for disposal, there are a few options. Check you local paper to see if anyone is looking for fill. You can also call a few local contractors to see if they need any. Also, some concrete companies will take fill, usually for a small charge in comparison to a landfill.

Best wishes!

Rick

Mr. Chang,
One question I have to ask is why you built the shed 4' below grade in the first place. Was there some restriction that prevented you from building it with the slab on grade?
As to the fix: Since it is 4' below grade anyway, why not break the walls into the smallest pieces you can and spread them evenly over the floor? Then just cover the entire mess with dirt and plant grass over it. You should have about 2.5 to 3 feet of soil covering it, so there shouldn't be a problem growing things, as long as it's not a large tree.

Pecos

The glorious county that I live in and gleefully pay my hard earned tax dollars to has a regulation that a shed cannot be more than 8.5' tall or it will be subject to additional taxes (as if I'm not being bled dry as it is :mad: )

so in order to obtain the ceiling height that I wanted, in my infinite wizardy I decided to dig below grade. Well as you can see, that worked out real well :thumbdn:

I thought about knocking the walls down and in but is it "ok" to have the resulting monstrosity living and breathing only a few feet below the ground?

I guess I should instead ask "what's the worst that could happen"

thks for all the ideas so far by the way,

-MC

It seems the strange situation was created when you tried to avoid recognizing a potential increase in your property values that you set accomplish. Because of the approach, it did not increase the value.

You could check to see if there is a law prohibiting you from burying your "structure" or you could build over it or quickly pave over it with asphalt and try to turn it into an asset.

Dick

but if all I want to do is live there, it just becomes a justification to increase my taxes.

I'll check into burying it, I'm not putting anymore time/money into it tho

-MC

try to find a little guy, or if you know some teens with full size pick-up trucks. I would assume it shouldnt cost more than $200. Especially if they can pull the truck right up to it. Local crush charges probably $10 a load and probably be 2 maybe 3 loads if is 4" thick. :D