Concrete removal in Wallingford
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Many of Wallingford's streets got their curbs and sidewalks between 1907 and 1909, in the rush of improvements before the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. The bungalows and box houses came soon after. So a lot of the concrete here is old, and a lot of it sits on a narrow strip between a house and a public sidewalk the owner is responsible for.
The good news is the ground. On our overlay of the City's critical-area maps, only about 1.5% of Wallingford is mapped steep slope, with no mapped landslide areas. For most jobs the ordinary citywide rules apply. When you are ready, we can pass your details to one local concrete removal company, at no cost to you.
Local facts for Wallingford
- Sidewalks from 1907-1909
- Bagley, Corliss, Sunnyside, Eastern and Meridian avenues were graded, curbed and given sidewalks between 1907 and 1909, ahead of the 1909 exposition. Source: HistoryLink, Seattle Neighborhoods: Wallingford - Thumbnail History
- Gas plant soot in the soil
- The Wallingford gas plant made gas from coal until 1937, and HistoryLink says excavations in the neighborhood still uncover soot it dropped. Source: HistoryLink, Seattle Neighborhoods: Wallingford - Thumbnail History
- North Transfer Station refuses concrete
- The North Transfer Station at 1350 N 34th St lists asphalt paving, bricks and concrete as not accepted. Source: Seattle Public Utilities, Transfer Stations
- Little mapped critical area
- Our overlay of the City's ECA layers on the Wallingford boundary (measured 13 October 2026): about 1.5% steep slope and no potential or known slide areas. Source: City of Seattle GIS, ECA Steep Slope layer
- Mostly renters
- 67.5% of households in the Wallingford community reporting area rent; 32.5% of housing units are single detached homes (ACS 2020-2024). Source: City of Seattle, Seattle Neighborhoods - Top 50 American Community Survey Data
An old street grid, built fast
HistoryLink's history of the neighborhood names Bagley, Corliss, Sunnyside, Eastern and Meridian avenues among the Wallingford streets graded, curbed and given sidewalks between 1907 and 1909. Once streetcars served the hill, it filled in with bungalows and box houses, and by the mid-1920s the Seattle Times was calling Wallingford one of the most active parts of the city.
The same history adds a detail worth knowing before anyone digs. The gas plant on the Wallingford peninsula, now Gas Works Park, made gas from coal until 1937, and when the wind came from the south it showered the neighborhood with sparks and soot. HistoryLink says any Wallingford excavation for a new basement or water service still turns up a sample. If the ground under your old slab looks black and cindery, mention it to whoever quotes the job, because recyclers want clean loads.
The sidewalk out front is usually yours
SDOT says the Seattle Municipal Code requires adjacent property owners to keep their sidewalks in good repair and safe for public travel, and that a permit is needed before any repair. On a street where the sidewalk is over a century old, a front walk or driveway job often turns into a sidewalk panel job too.
Wallingford is also mostly renters. In the City's Wallingford community reporting area, 67.5% of households rent and 32.5% of housing units are single detached homes, per the 2020-2024 American Community Survey figures the City publishes. If you are a tenant, the sidewalk and the slab are the owner's call.
Which rules usually apply here
Because so little of Wallingford is a mapped critical area, the lower 25-cubic-yard grading trigger for slopes rarely comes into play. SDCI's standard triggers still do. A grading permit is generally needed if the work disturbs 5,000 square feet or more, which SDCI says includes removing pavement or walkways, or if it adds or replaces a combined 750 square feet or more of hard surface.
A typical Wallingford driveway or back patio is well under both. A full tear-out that is being replaced with new concrete across the whole lot is where the 750-square-foot line deserves a measurement.
The transfer station down the hill will not take it
Seattle's North Transfer Station is at 1350 North 34th Street, at the foot of the neighborhood. HistoryLink records that residents tried and failed to stop its construction in 1966. For anyone planning a do-it-yourself haul, Seattle Public Utilities lists asphalt paving, bricks and concrete as not accepted there, so broken slab has to go to a private recycler instead.
Questions about concrete removal in Wallingford
Who is responsible for the sidewalk in front of a Wallingford house?
The adjacent property owner. SDOT says the Seattle Municipal Code requires adjacent owners to keep sidewalks in good repair and safe for public travel, and a permit is needed before the repair. The City takes on the repair when City infrastructure, such as a City-owned tree or sewer line, caused the damage.
Can I take broken concrete to the North Transfer Station?
No. Seattle Public Utilities lists asphalt paving, bricks and concrete as not accepted at its transfer stations. It has to go to a private recycler.
Do I need a grading permit to replace a driveway?
Off a mapped critical area, SDCI's standard triggers apply: disturbing 5,000 square feet or more, or adding or replacing a combined 750 square feet or more of hard surface, among others. Most single driveways fall under both, but measure before assuming.
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