What to do with a backyard that has hidden concrete
Digging up buried concrete and crusher dust is too daunting, and it blocks people from extending their grass or putting in a rain garden. Dealing with hidden obstacles and poor drainage leaves the yard pooling with water and no clear way forward.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
What to do with a backyard that has hidden concrete
- 1Smashing out the concrete with a sledgehammerDid this help you?
- 2Turning the concrete area into a seating space with loungers and a water featureDid this help you?
- 3Planting shade-tolerant understory trees and shrubsDid this help you?
- 4Remove the cracked concrete completely using a pickaxe or jackhammer along with a rented dumpster or junk removal crewDid this help you?
- 5Regrade the yard or install a French drainDid this help you?
- 6Dig a lower area to the side of the path to act as a rain garden and divert waterDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I’m looking for suggestions for this space. There was a swingset that’s been dismantled. Some of the area has concrete underneath the dirt and bark. I would have liked to extend out the grass but not sure if it’s possible due to the concrete.”source ↗
“There’s random spots of concrete throughout, there also appears to be blue steel or crusher dust underneath the dirt and bark as well.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 6How to fix yard grading under existing paving stones
- 5How to level a sloped backyard for a shed entrance
- 2Cheapest way to build a floor on bare earth in a garage or shed
- 5Cracked polymeric sand and weeds in a new paver patio
- 4How to build a patio over a drain pipe
- 2How to grow grass over shallow rocks or bedrock