Concrete removal in Fremont
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Most of Fremont's houses went up fast, on a slope. A 2010 historic resources survey for the City describes the core of the neighborhood in the late 1880s as "essentially a southward sloping hillside cleared of all timber", and says housing development was intense from 1904 to the First World War and again through the 1920s.
That history shapes the concrete you find on a Fremont lot today: garage pads and driveways added after the houses, walks and steps set into the slope, and, near the water, ground the City treats as shoreline. This page covers what to check before any of it comes out. When you are ready, send us the details and we pass your job to one local concrete removal company. It costs you nothing.
Local facts for Fremont
- A cleared south-facing hillside
- By the late 1880s the core of the Fremont area was essentially a southward sloping hillside cleared of all timber. Source: Historic Resources Survey Report: Fremont Neighborhood Residential Buildings (2010), City of Seattle
- Two building booms
- Residential development in Fremont was particularly intense from 1904 to the World War I era, followed by another intense period through the 1920s. Source: Historic Resources Survey Report: Fremont Neighborhood Residential Buildings (2010)
- Garages came later
- The present Fremont Bridge opened June 15, 1917; by then private cars had changed transportation patterns and the construction or addition of garages became more commonplace. Source: Historic Resources Survey Report: Fremont Neighborhood Residential Buildings (2010)
- Annexed in 1891
- Fremont is among the seven present-day urban villages brought into Seattle in the city's first annexation, in 1891. Source: City of Seattle, MHA Final EIS (2017), Section 3.5 Historic Resources
Built before the car, paved after it
The same survey ties the arrival of the present Fremont Bridge, opened on June 15, 1917 as part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal project, to a shift in how people got around. By then private cars had changed transportation patterns, and "the construction or addition of garages became more commonplace."
So on an older Fremont lot, the driveway or garage slab may be decades younger than the house beside it. When you ask for a price, say whether the slab runs under or against the house or a garage, because that decides how carefully the edge has to be cut.
Near the Ship Canal? Check the shoreline rules
The survey describes Fremont's early housing climbing the hillside along the northwest shoreline of Lake Union, and the Ship Canal runs along the bottom of the neighborhood. Seattle's grading rules define a shoreline district as land within 200 feet of the ordinary high water mark of most lakes and bays and Puget Sound, and they apply their own triggers there on top of any shoreline permit.
Inside that district, SDCI requires a grading permit for any land disturbance within 100 feet of the high water mark, and for more than 25 cubic yards of earth movement between 100 and 200 feet. Removing pavement counts as land disturbance. If your lot is close to the canal, ask SDCI whether it is in the shoreline district before you book the work.
Away from the water, the usual thresholds apply
Up the hill, a typical residential slab is small next to Seattle's general grading triggers, which start at 5,000 square feet of disturbed area or 750 square feet of hard surface added or replaced. Where a job does need care is the boundary with the street, because the sidewalk and planting strip in front of a Seattle lot are the owner's to maintain.
SDOT's ROW Maintenance permit covers minor sidewalk or driveway repaving under 100 square feet. Anything bigger needs a ROW Construction permit.
Dumpsters in the Fremont urban village
Fremont is one of the seven urban villages that joined Seattle in its first annexation, in 1891, according to the City's 2017 MHA environmental impact statement. That designation matters for your dumpster. SDOT says a construction container on any street inside an Urban Village or Urban Center needs a ROW Construction Use permit, not the simpler residential container permit.
On a narrow hillside street, also check SDOT's placement guidance: at least 30 feet from an intersection, 10 feet from a driveway and 15 feet from a hydrant.
Questions about concrete removal in Fremont
Do I need a permit to remove concrete near the Ship Canal?
Possibly. In Seattle's shoreline district, SDCI requires a grading permit for any land disturbance within 100 feet of the ordinary high water mark, and for more than 25 cubic yards between 100 and 200 feet.
Do you need a permit for a dumpster in Fremont?
Yes, if it is in the right-of-way. Because Fremont is an urban village, SDOT requires a ROW Construction Use permit for a construction container there.
When were most Fremont houses built?
The City's 2010 survey says residential building was most intense from 1904 to the World War I era and again through the 1920s.
Who fixes the sidewalk in front of a Fremont house?
The owner. SDOT says property owners maintain the sidewalk and planting strip next to their property, and repairs need an SDOT permit.
Near Fremont
Sources
- Historic Resources Survey Report: Fremont Neighborhood Residential Buildings (2010)
- Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, Grading Permit
- SDOT, ROW Maintenance Permit
- SDOT, Property Owners' Responsibilities
- SDOT, Storage Container and Residential Dumpster Permits
- City of Seattle, MHA Final EIS (2017), Section 3.5 Historic Resources
Get a price for Fremont
Send a few details and photos if you have them. We come back with a price range, then pass your details to one local concrete removal company. It costs you nothing.