How do you remove a wheel stop without damaging the asphalt?

Pull anchor spikes vertically with a slide hammer rather than levering them sideways. Lift the stop straight up rather than dragging it across pavement. Patch anchor holes with cold-mix asphalt in 1-inch lifts, tamping each lift to ensure no settlement. The result is a flush patch that disappears within one fade season.

Can you reuse a wheel stop after removing it?

Yes, if the body is structurally intact. Recycled rubber stops are particularly reusable because the body flexes during removal without cracking. Concrete stops can be reused if no through-body cracks developed. Plan to repaint and replace reflective tape on any reused stop.

How long does it take to remove a wheel stop?

A two-person crew removes a single asphalt-anchored stop in 15 to 25 minutes including patching. Concrete-anchored stops take 25 to 35 minutes because of the rebar-cutting step. Mobilization adds 30 minutes to several hours depending on distance.

What is the difference between removing a stop on asphalt vs concrete?

Asphalt-anchored stops use steel spikes that pull vertically with a slide hammer. Concrete-anchored stops use epoxy rebar pins that cannot be pulled — the rebar is cut flush with a grinder or chipping hammer, and the lower portion stays in the substrate. Asphalt patches use cold-mix; concrete patches use non-shrink grout.

Should you DIY wheel stop removal or hire a contractor?

Property managers can remove one or two asphalt-anchored stops with a slide hammer and basic patch supplies. Lots with five or more stops, any concrete-substrate removals, or any layout reconfiguration are typically faster and cheaper through a parking-lot product contractor because of mobilization economies and proper patch technique.

How to Remove Old Wheel Stops Without Damaging Asphalt

(541) 409-9848 cojoexcavation@gmail.com

Serving Eugene to Portland, Bend, and the Oregon Coast

What is the right way to remove a wheel stop?

For asphalt: pull steel anchor spikes with a slide hammer or chain-pull rig, then patch holes with cold-mix asphalt and tamp flush. For concrete substrate with epoxy rebar pins: cut the rebar flush with a 4.5-inch grinder or rotary hammer in chipping mode, leaving the lower pin in place if below grade. For surface-set adhesive stops: pry up with a 60-inch wrecking bar. The key on asphalt is to extract anchors vertically — never lever them sideways or you tear up surrounding pavement.

Key takeaways

Steel spikes in asphalt should be extracted vertically with a slide hammer, not pried sideways
Epoxy rebar pins in concrete are cut flush rather than fully extracted
Surface-set adhesive stops pry up cleanly with no anchor extraction needed
Asphalt patches use cold-mix; concrete patches use non-shrink grout
Total time per stop is 15 to 35 minutes for a two-person crew

When do you remove a wheel stop instead of replacing it?

The four most common removal scenarios Cojo sees:

Layout change. A property reconfigures parking — moving from angled to perpendicular stalls, removing a stall to add an accessible space, or pulling stops where a building addition consumes parking.
Conversion to a continuous curb. Some lots replace individual wheel stops with a poured concrete continuous curb, especially around landscaped islands.
Stall elimination. Parking-lot redesigns that turn unused stalls into landscaped pads, EV charging stations, or pedestrian plazas.
Damaged-beyond-replacement removal where no new stop will be installed. Less common; usually only happens when a stall is being eliminated entirely.

If the goal is one-for-one replacement, see our wheel stop replacement guide — the procedure overlaps but is optimized for the install side.

What tools do you need?

Removal kit for a typical commercial parking lot:

Tool	Purpose
Slide hammer with 5/8-inch threaded stud	Vertical spike extraction
Chain-pull rig (truck-mounted or come-along)	Backup spike extraction
Rotary hammer (SDS-Max) with chipping bit	Concrete chipping, anchor breakout
4.5-inch grinder with metal-cutting wheel	Cutting protruding rebar
60-inch heavy-duty wrecking bar	Adhesive-set stop removal
4-inch carbide scraper	Adhesive residue cleanup
4-pound hand maul + 25-pound asphalt tamper	Patch compaction
Cold-mix asphalt (50-pound bag)	Asphalt patch material
Non-shrink grout (50-pound bag)	Concrete patch material
Industrial vacuum or shop-vac	Hole cleaning before patching
Two-person crew	Lifting capacity for 200 to 350 pound stops

A 6-foot precast concrete wheel stop weighs roughly 250 to 350 pounds; a recycled rubber stop weighs 80 to 130 pounds. Plan lifting accordingly.

How do you extract spike anchors from asphalt?

The standard procedure for asphalt-anchored stops:

Step 1: Expose the anchor heads

Most anchor heads sit flush with the top of the wheel stop. Clean dirt and old paint off the heads. If a head is corroded or rounded, hit it with a wire brush to expose the threaded center.

Step 2: Thread the slide hammer stud

Thread a 5/8-inch slide hammer stud into the spike head. Most commercial wheel stop spikes accept a 5/8-11 thread. If the head is too damaged to thread, switch to a chain-pull rig or rotary hammer chipping.

Step 3: Drive the slide hammer

Strike the slide hammer in 3 to 6 pulls per spike. The spike rises 1 to 2 inches per strike. Most spikes pull cleanly with vertical force; the tendency to lever sideways is what tears up surrounding asphalt.

Step 4: Lift the stop

Once both anchors are out, two crew members lift the stop straight up and clear of the stall. Do not drag the stop across asphalt; the bottom is rough and will scuff.

For asphalt anchoring details that map back to extraction technique, see how to anchor wheel stops in asphalt.

How do you handle epoxy rebar pins in concrete?

Concrete substrate with epoxy rebar pins does not allow vertical extraction — the epoxy bond exceeds the pin's tensile strength, and trying to pull the pin will break the surrounding concrete instead. The procedure:

Step 1: Cut the rebar flush

Use a 4.5-inch grinder with a metal-cutting wheel or a rotary hammer in chipping mode with a chisel bit. Cut the rebar at the top of the wheel stop. The pin breaks at the cut; the lower portion (typically 4 to 6 inches deep into the concrete) stays buried.

Step 2: Lift the stop

The stop is now free and can be lifted away. The pin stub left in the concrete can be ground flush with a 4.5-inch grinder if a new stop will not be installed in the same footprint, or left as-is if a new stop will sit over it.

Step 3: Patch the hole

If the stub is left below grade and a new stop will not sit over it, patch the small hole around the pin with non-shrink grout. If the stub will be ground flush, grind it 1/4 inch below the concrete surface and patch with grout.

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration's Concrete Pavement Repair Manual covers grout selection in detail; use Type I or Type II non-shrink grout with a 28-day strength of at least 5,000 psi.

How do you handle adhesive-set stops?

Some lots use construction-adhesive bonding instead of mechanical anchors, particularly for rubber stops on concrete substrate. Removal:

Step 1: Slide a pry bar under one end

Use a 60-inch heavy-duty wrecking bar with a flat tip. Slide it under the stop's end face.

Step 2: Lever upward

Most adhesive bonds break in 2 to 3 strokes of moderate force. Work from one end toward the other rather than flexing the middle.

Step 3: Scrape the residue

Adhesive residue on the substrate scrapes off with a 4-inch carbide scraper. For stubborn residue, a heat gun softens the adhesive in 10 to 15 seconds without damaging asphalt or concrete.

How do you patch the holes correctly?

Asphalt patches

The procedure:

Vacuum loose debris from the hole. Brush the inside walls clean.
Heat the surrounding 4-inch radius with a propane torch for 30 seconds — just enough to dry residual moisture.
Pour cold-mix asphalt in 1-inch lifts.
Tamp each lift with a 4-pound hand maul.
Final lift mounded 1/4 inch above grade, then compacted flush with a 25-pound asphalt tamper.

Cold-mix is traffic-ready in 1 to 4 hours and matches surrounding asphalt color within one freeze-thaw cycle. For permanent patches, hot-mix is the better material but requires a load delivery and is rarely worth scheduling for individual anchor holes.

Concrete patches

The procedure:

Vacuum loose debris.
Wet the hole interior with a misting bottle (concrete bonds better when the substrate is damp, not soaked).
Mix non-shrink grout to flowable consistency.
Pour and rod with a small piece of rebar or screwdriver to release air.
Strike off flush with a steel trowel.
Cure 24 hours before traffic.

What does "without damaging asphalt" actually mean?

The damage to avoid:

Spalled asphalt around anchor holes — caused by levering anchors sideways or by chipping with too aggressive a bit
Surface scuffing from dragging stops across pavement
Patch mismatching when cold-mix is poorly compacted and settles below grade
Tire-strike damage from leaving anchor stubs above grade between extraction and patching

A properly removed wheel stop on asphalt leaves two patched circles roughly 1 inch in diameter, flush with surrounding pavement, that disappear visually within one wear-and-fade season. A poorly removed stop leaves spalled craters that need a 2-square-foot asphalt cutback patch.

Cojo retrofit case: 32-stall lot Portland metro

A 32-stall Portland-metro retail lot we serviced in March 2026 was reconfiguring from 32 stalls (with stops) to 28 stalls plus 2 EV charging spaces and a landscaped pad. The job required removing all 32 wheel stops, re-striping, and patching all 64 anchor holes.

We used slide-hammer extraction on 30 of the asphalt-anchored stops; 2 had broken spikes that required rotary-hammer chipping. All 64 anchor holes patched cleanly with cold-mix; the lot was traffic-ready 4 hours after the last patch. Total project time was 1.5 days for a two-person crew.

If your property is reconfiguring or downsizing parking, start with our wheel stops buyer's guide for what to do with the salvaged stops, then contact Cojo for a removal-and-restripe quote. For Portland-area service see wheel stop installation Portland.

Industry Baseline Range

Item	Range
Per-stop removal labor (extraction + lift + patch), asphalt	$40 to $90
Per-stop removal labor (cut + lift + patch), concrete	$55 to $115
Cold-mix asphalt patch material, per stop	$4 to $9
Non-shrink grout for concrete patches, per stop	$9 to $20
Salvaged stop disposal, per stop	$5 to $15
Mobilization fee for under 10 stop removals	$250 to $500
Removal + re-stripe pass on 50-stall lot	$1,800 to $3,800

These figures reflect published industry averages. Current market pricing varies significantly and actual quotes may fall well outside these ranges based on site-specific conditions, material costs, and project complexity.

Current Market Reality

Removal-only jobs are unusual; most wheel stop removals run alongside re-striping, layout reconfigurations, or EV-charging installs. Bundling brings the per-stop removal cost down by 30 to 45 percent. If your project is purely removal without follow-on work, expect higher per-stop pricing because of mobilization economics.

Reviewed by Cojo lead estimator. This article reflects 2026-05 FHWA grout and asphalt-patch references.

How to Remove Old Wheel Stops Without Damaging Asphalt