Site prep, foundation work, concrete demolition and removal, curb and sidewalk work in the GTA and Ontario urban markets. This kit reflects the real demands of tight job sites, permit culture, and urban density — not a textbook equipment list.
Ontario concrete contracting — especially in the GTA — operates in a compressed, regulated, high-cost environment. Permits take time. Noise bylaws limit operating hours. Job sites are often tight, with neighbouring properties close, street parking restrictions, and no room for a large excavator when a skid steer with the right attachment does the same job in less space.
The attachment kit for this profile is weighted toward demolition, rubble handling, and surface work. That's where the money is for Ontario concrete contractors: breaking up old driveways, removing foundations, cutting out damaged curb sections, trenching for drainage, and moving material in and out of tight residential sites.
If you're doing commercial or industrial pours with a larger crew, you'll also want to look at the general demolition and construction cleanup guides — but the core kit here applies regardless of job size.
Cold planers require high-flow hydraulics (25–40 GPM). If you're running a cold planer, verify your machine has the high-flow option. For breakers, trenchers, and rock buckets, standard flow (18–24 GPM) is adequate.
The concrete contractor kit is split between demolition tools and material handling tools. Buy the breaker first — it's the revenue driver on demo sites. Then build out the rubble handling and surface prep tools around it.
The core attachment for Ontario concrete work. Breaking old driveways, foundations, curb sections, and patio slabs. Medium-class breakers (600–900 ft-lb impact energy) cover most residential and light commercial work. Heavy class (1,200+ ft-lb) for thicker commercial slabs. Standard flow compatible on most models.
Loading broken concrete rubble into bins and trucks. A heavy-duty rock bucket with reinforced side plates and replaceable cutting edge handles concrete debris far better than a GP bucket. Skeleton (sorting) bucket useful for mixed-site cleanup where you need to separate rubble from soil.
Storm drain connections, weeping tile, utility service lines, and foundation drainage. Chain trencher for soil-dominant sites; rockwheel for rocky Ontario Shield material or old urban fill with lots of rebar and rubble. 36–60" depth range typical for residential drainage work.
Removing deteriorated concrete surface layers and asphalt before overlay on driveways, parking areas, and commercial entrances. High-flow required (30–40 GPM). 12–18" wide planers most common for urban residential. The attachment that separates full-service concrete contractors from basic crews.
Moving rebar bundles, bagged cement, block, precast panels, and concrete forms. A 6,000–8,000 lb rated frame is appropriate for GTA construction site material weights. Heavy-frame forks with bolt-on tines are preferred for durability on hardscape job sites.
Ontario concrete contractor attachment budgets typically range from $30K (breaker + rock bucket + forks) to $60K+ (full kit with cold planer and trencher). Build in stages — the cold planer in particular is a significant capital item best added once you have consistent surface prep work to justify it.
| Attachment | Demo-Focused Kit | Full-Service Kit | Premium Build |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hydraulic Breaker (medium) | $7,500 | $9,500 | $16,000 |
| Rock Bucket (heavy-duty) | $3,800 | $5,500 | $7,000 |
| Pallet Forks (heavy frame) | $2,500 | $3,500 | $4,200 |
| Trencher | — | $10,500 | $17,500 |
| Cold Planer | — | $13,500 | $24,000 |
| Auger + Rock Bit | — | $4,500 | $7,000 |
| Estimated Total | ~$13,800 | ~$47,000 | ~$75,700 |
Hydraulic breakers have a significant wear cost beyond the purchase price — chisel tools (moils, chisels, blunt tools) are consumable and run $300–$800 each depending on size. Budget $1,500–$3,000/year in breaker tool replacement for active demo work. Trencher chains are similarly consumable: $600–$1,200 per chain in mixed urban soil, replaced every 50–150 hours depending on conditions.
Ontario concrete contracting runs hard from April through November, with a real but limited indoor season in winter. GTA urban density actually extends the season — heated underground parking, indoor commercial projects, and heated foundations keep some crews busy year-round.
A 75–90 HP compact track loader fits where an excavator doesn't. That's the core value proposition in dense GTA neighbourhoods — the machine gets through a side yard gate, works in a 20-foot-wide backyard, and loads a bin truck parked on the street. Width matters: most residential-site CTLs in the GTA run 60–66" wide. Anything wider starts to create access problems on standard city lots.
GTA permit timelines — especially for work near property lines, near trees protected under the Urban Forest bylaw, or within flood plain setbacks — can add weeks to project start dates. Factor permit lead times into your equipment utilization planning. Starting a major demo project and discovering a permit hold while paying for rented equipment is expensive.
Ontario concrete contractors doing residential work overwhelmingly prefer rubber tracks over wheeled skid steers. The reason is simple: rubber tracks don't tear up recently poured concrete, existing asphalt, and exposed aggregate surfaces the way steel-edged wheels do. The incremental cost of a CTL over a wheeled machine is often recovered in one avoided claim for surface damage. CTL vs wheeled skid steer comparison →
Undersizing a breaker for the material is the most common buying mistake Ontario concrete contractors make. A small breaker that's technically within spec will take 3x as long to break a 6-inch commercial slab vs a properly-sized medium or heavy-class unit. Match impact energy to your typical slab thickness — 3–4 inch residential (500–700 ft-lb), 5–6 inch commercial (800–1,200 ft-lb), structural (1,200+ ft-lb). Hydraulic breaker buying guide →
Browse hydraulic breakers, rock buckets, trenchers, cold planers, and pallet forks — with Canadian pricing and specs.