The job
Remcon Australia looks after remedial and maintenance work on apartment buildings across South East Queensland. At an occupied apartment complex in Coorparoo they needed old tiles, planters and concrete footpaths taken out so new paths and entries could go in.
Perfect Concrete Care did it in two stages: tile and planter removal at a building entry in November 2025, then concrete removal on the footpaths around the grounds in March 2026. Residents kept using the complex the whole time.
What the concrete removal involved
- Entry path and stair tiles lifted back to the slab, and the adhesive ground off
- A tiled planter box at the entry broken out, with the services inside marked and left in place
- Old concrete footpaths saw cut into sections with a demo saw and a road saw
- Paths and planter walls broken out with a 1.7 tonne excavator and hammer
- Rubble moved with a mini dumper and loaded into bins and the truck at the kerb
What made it hard
The residents stayed in. Paths were bunted off one section at a time, and there was always a clear way in and out of the buildings.
The paths run between buildings, gardens, lawns and garden lights. The excavator worked from the path line, and the lawns and garden edges were protected.
Parts of the old slab were much thicker than the rest. Those sections were cut down to a size the excavator and dumper could lift safely.
How it was done
In November, the crew lifted the tiles with breakers and hand tools, ground back the adhesive and broke out the planter by hand, keeping clear of the services.
In March, the paths were marked out, saw cut along the lines and into sections, then broken out with the mini excavator. The crew loaded the pieces with the dumper and took them to the bin at the kerb, and cleaned up as they went.
Outcome
The tiles, planter and old footpaths in the areas handed to us were removed and the path lines left clear and tidy, ready for Remcon's new work.
Lessons learned on this job
Every job teaches the crew something. These are the ones we took from Coorparoo.
What worked
- Saw cutting first, so the excavator only lifted out clean sections
- A small excavator and dumper that fit the paths between buildings
- Working one bunted section at a time so residents always had a way through
What was difficult
- Working around residents, gardens and lawns in an occupied complex
- Slab sections much thicker than expected
- Keeping services inside the old planter untouched
If you have something similar
Footpath, driveway and planter removal around occupied buildings needs a small, careful crew. Have a look at our concrete cutting Brisbane and road sawing Brisbane pages, see more Remcon work at Coolangatta, or get in touch.
Need this done at your site?
Perfect Concrete Care acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as Traditional Custodians of the country on which we live and work. We pay our respects to the Traditional Custodians and Elders past, present and future, and honour their connection to the land and ongoing contribution to society.