Block Paving Removal

The paving itself is rarely the real problem. The base usually is. If the surface is wavy, puddles form or blocks rock underfoot, the cause is almost always poorly compacted sub-base, missing drainage or kerbs that have moved. Replacing the surface without fixing the base will not solve it.

Other typical reasons:

• Sunken areas from car wheels or over an old trench
• A new water, drainage or electrical connection, or a land drain
• Changing the shape of the area or widening a parking space
• Replacing old paving with a different type

Buried services

Gas pipes, water mains and electrical cables can run under paving, often shallower than you would expect. If you plan to dig after lifting, ask the utility companies for their plans or have the services located first. If a gas pipe is damaged, leave the area straight away, avoid naked flames and electrical switches, and call the gas emergency line or 112. Gas and electrical lines may only be repaired by a qualified professional: a registered gas engineer for gas, a qualified electrician for cables.

Permissions and shared areas

Lifting and relaying paving in the same place is normally ordinary maintenance. If you change the size of the hard-surfaced area, create a new access onto the road or work on a public footpath, check with your local building authority or council whether you need to notify them or get permission first. Rules on new driveway accesses and drainage of hard surfaces vary, so check the current local regulations. For a block of flats, paths and yards usually belong to all owners, so agree the work with the building management or owners' association.

Careful lifting for reuse

Blocks are lifted by hand, one at a time, using a pry bar or paving tongs. It is slower, but most blocks stay intact. This makes sense when the paving is still sound and good-looking and you want to put it back or use it for a smaller garden path.

Quick removal and disposal

If the blocks are cracked, faded or being replaced anyway, there is no point handling them gently. On larger areas a mini digger or loader scoops up paving and base together and loads it straight for removal. It is fast, but the blocks break.

Kerbs and edgings

Kerbs hold the whole area together, so they are usually bedded in concrete and backed with concrete haunching. Removing them is closer to demolition: the concrete has to be broken, then the kerb loosened and pulled out. Kerbs are heavy, so never lift one on your own.

Two areas of similar size can take very different amounts of effort, and that affects the final cost. The main factors are:

• How the blocks are laid: on a sand bed they come up easily, set in concrete or mortar they have to be broken out
• The joints: moss, roots or baked-in dirt grip the blocks much harder
• Block thickness and shape: thicker driveway blocks and interlocking shapes are harder to lift
• Access: a narrow gap between house and fence means carrying by hand instead of using a machine
• Whether kerbs, steps or drainage channels also have to come out
• Handling the material: sorting, stacking on pallets and removing waste are separate tasks

Lifted paving, sub-base and concrete count as construction waste. They go in a skip, to a recycling facility or to a waste recycling centre according to your local rules. Dumping them in woodland or by a stream is illegal fly-tipping.

You can handle a small area laid on sand yourself. You will need a pry bar or two strong flat screwdrivers, a rubber mallet, paving tongs, sturdy gloves, safety boots and safety glasses. Do not dig deeper than the bedding layer until any buried services have been located.

1. Photograph the area from above to record the laying pattern.
2. Clear weeds and dirt from the joints, and dampen hard-baked joints if needed.
3. Start at an edge, ideally where a kerb is missing or a block is already damaged.
4. Loosen the first block by tapping with the rubber mallet and lever it up from two sides at once, or sacrifice it and remove it in pieces.
5. Lift the next blocks one by one from the edge inwards with tongs or a pry bar, without heavy blows.
6. Clean sand off each block straight away and sort into whole, damaged and broken.
7. Stack whole blocks on their edges on level ground or a pallet, tightly together, all facing the same way.
8. Cover the stack so it stays clean and soil does not wash between the blocks.
9. Rake away the old bedding sand and check the condition of the sub-base.

For heavier blocks and kerbs, work in pairs and lift from a squat, not by bending forward.

In practice, a job that looks like a simple weekend task often ends with a pile of broken blocks and damaged surroundings.

• Too much force, which chips edges and interlocks and ruins the very blocks worth saving
• Levering against the next block or the house wall, damaging what should stay
• Tipping blocks into a heap, where they scratch and break
• Digging without locating services, risking a cut cable or pipe
• Relaying onto the same poor base, so the area sinks again
• Forgetting the fall and drainage, so water pools by the house or soaks into the base
• Underestimating the waste, so the site fills with rubble and work stalls

It also helps to know that a footpath and a driveway need different base thicknesses and different block thicknesses. If the use of the area changes, the excavation depth and base build-up need to change too.

When taking over the work from a contractor or checking your own, go through these points:

• Paving is lifted to the agreed extent and surrounding surfaces are undamaged
• Walls, plinth, fence and any kerbs meant to stay are intact
• Reusable blocks are cleaned, sorted and stacked on level ground
• It is clear how many blocks are missing and need to be bought
• Construction waste is removed or ready for collection in a skip
• Exposed services are undamaged and marked
• The base has been inspected and it is agreed whether it will be repaired or replaced
• The area is safe to walk on and any holes are fenced off