Oregon demolition sites produce thousands of pounds of concrete. With strict landfill regulations and increasing fuel prices, disposing of concrete using traditional methods is not as simple or cost-effective as it once was. Rather than accept the inconvenience, Elder developed a solution made it one of the most sought-after Oregon demolition contractors in the West—on-site concrete crushing. Whether you need to tear down a building or have concrete from a previously demolished structure, you can count us to keep your project moving in the right direction.

What is Concrete Crushing?

Concrete crushing is a process in which we grind concrete into gravel that you can reuse and recycle. Before our Oregon demolition experts can crush concrete, they tear down the respective building using precision equipment, such as high-reach excavators with attachments. We then separate the concrete, place it in a discrete location at your site, and remove debris.

We process the concrete down to pieces 18”square to remove as much rebar as possible and make it easier to run through the crusher. An excavator then loads the concrete into the crusher, which has strong interlocking teeth that smash the blocks into small pieces. After processing the concrete, we sort the pieces by size and use an electromagnet to remove metal that you can recycle or sell.

The most common types of crushers in the demolition industry include:

• Jaw crushers: Jaw crushers are like a nutcracker, as two vertically oriented jaws that open and close like a mouth “chew” the larger chunks of concrete into smaller pieces. The small pieces of crushed concrete pass through the jaws, while larger pieces remain in the crusher until the pressure of the jaws break them down.
• Impact crushers: Rather than crush concrete using pressure, impact crushers smash the material. The equipment might fling a piece of concrete against a hard surface, so the impact causes the material to break apart. Alternatively, an impact crusher might use a spinning rotor with a hammer to break concrete.
• Cone crushers: As concrete moves toward the tip of the equipment’s cone, two internal layers within the machine crush the material into smaller pieces.

The gravel-sized pieces produced are perfect for reuse for road compaction, pipe bedding, structural fill, road bases, leveling, landscaping and several other applications. You may also mix it with sand, water, virgin aggregate and cement to make new concrete that’s stronger and lighter in weight than virgin materials.

Rather than haul away concrete to a recycling center or landfill and make you purchase new gravel for your project, we turn the material into something that you can use. Even if Elder did not tear down your building, we will happily visit your site to crush the concrete that remains.

Benefits of Oregon Concrete Crushing and Recycling

Concrete is durable: Concrete is a tough, long lasting building material that resists impacts, UV lights, pests, traffic and the elements. Because it is so durable, it doesn’t break down in landfills well, making it a good candidate for recycling and reuse.

 

LEED points: Recycling and reusing concrete saves fuel and reduces the demand for virgin materials, giving you a great opportunity to earn LEED certification points for your project and reduce its carbon footprint.

 

Save time and money: Elder will crush concrete from your demolition project on-site so you can use it for an upcoming project, yielding an ROI that’s too good to ignore. This service eliminates the need to pay for a truck to transport the material to recycling center or landfill, as well as the need to pay and wait for new materials to arrive.

Elder Goes the Extra Mile

Some of the greatest hazards on a demolition site are invisible, such as air pollution that can damage an individual’s lungs. For this reason, the Oregon demolition specialists at Elder don’t simply throw concrete into a crusher. We take special precautions to reduce air pollution using construction barriers, dust control solutions and HEPA-equipped vacuums to protect our workers, the public and the environment from dust and harmful crystalline silica particles.

As an award-winning leader in asset recovery and green demolition practices, Elder makes it simple for you to save money and help the planet during a demolition project. Contact us today to learn more about our concrete crushing services.