I have a bunch of concrete slabs around my house that I'm in the process of removing these to gain more gardening space and I'm no fan of concrete slabs The cost of landfilling it all would be in the $1000-1500 range. I'd rather follow Frank Lloyd Wright and use building materials limited to those found in the immediate area when possible. In my case, being in the city, that's concrete. Grows here everywhere.

This was a pretty large patio that I think may have been poured as a driveway because it was 5-6" thick.
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Patios, sidewalks, driveways aren't suppose to have steel in them according to building code...so they can be removed easily. Steel makes removal very difficult and no chunks large enough to reuse like I'm showing here. So best to try a small area to see if there's steel. Out of maybe 25 slabs I've broken up I've only run into one slab with steel thank goodness.

No steel = great material imo.

I use it to make walls. Stacking can be super easy or much more time consuming.

This planter was time consuming to get a formal look. Getting level courses.I used a little cement building this, about $5 worth, plus I used granite minus I already had to make a mortar.
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I alternated the flat side orientation for each course. So flat side up, then flat side down. The second course goes fast, no leveling needed, and looks good imo. The most time consuming part was I pushed small chunks of broken concrete into any voids, plus some mortar.
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If I did this again I would have cut the pieces for the top course in more of a rectangle for a more finished look. I can still do this by adding another course or two.

Way faster is to just dry stack it. Here's a 30" or so retaining wall. No level, no mortar. Takes a little trial and error picking the right chunk, the right orientation.
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Or a little border. I like elevation changes.
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Looks good w_b. What a lot of work, good thing you're still a young man. ;-)

He is practicing for prison. ;-D

Still this makes the second time I have seen his urbanite projects and remain impressed with his sense of aesthetics and practical applications.

did you have your safety glasses on???

ken

No safety glasses.

Really, really great! You are so good at this! I love elevation changes too and yours is really nice. I wish I had your talent! Thanks for posting these, they are awesome! Keep the updates coming. Happy gardening and happy constructing (and de- and re-constructing).

LOVE IT - creating utility and beauty from what would otherwise end up in the landfill. Broken concrete slab makes surprisingly nice-looking and stable retaining walls, since the thickness is so uniform.

My challenge is incorporating my husband's penchant for "rusty old junk" into the landscape. He used to work in mining/drill operations and was always bringing home used drill bits, broken shovels, hammer heads, drill steel and other mining paraphernalia not to mention rocks of every size shape and description. We already have an ore cart out front so I guess I'll be going with the mining theme, lol

You married my husband's twin brother!!!!

LOL -- and I'll bet you also have lots of firewood -- lots and lots and LOTS of firewood, carefully hoarded and lovingly stacked, slowly turning into sawdust because it's a rare specie of juniper or aspen (or whatever) that's being saved for a future 'special occasion'.

Meanwhile the borers, scorpions, and rock squirrels are having a field day.

Yes, lots of firewood but we burn a lot of it. The part you are talking about are all the left-overs of some nice hardwoods from various woodworking projects. But he actually does make some incredible items, especially kitchen implements like stirrers, spoons, stir fry paddles, salad forks etc.

The eye sore here is piles of metal....he recycles metal and we are waiting for some of the prices to go back up. Friends looking for 'some weird piece or part to make something work' often stop by to shop the yard. We call him "Son of Sanford"......

Maybe we should start a thread on most junked up yards. I think I could win that contest...easily. It's an unfortunate downside of reuse. You have to collect materials when available and it can take me awhile to figure out a use. I'm lucky to have very understanding neighbors for the most part.

I LOVE IT! I don't have any concrete to break up really and have been pining to do some urbanite projects for over a year now - that's how I know it's a good idea, I still get excited about it.

It's hard to find sizeable chunks nearby but Waterbug, you have just excited me to keep my eyes peeled and gloves at the ready. Gosh it looks good.

Grey: I see it on craigslist now and then, and its free, even.

Here's some if you want to try your hand at it.
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/cph/zip/4861832487.html