If you adore your land, but your home requires major repairs, you may be wondering, “What’s the Cheapest Way to Demolish a House?” It appears dangerous, but demolition might be a surprisingly feasible alternative in certain cases.
A home is severely damaged by fire, an earthquake, or other natural disasters. Property owners want to develop a commercial project on land with an abandoned house. House demolition projects entail costs for licenses, labor, and deconstruction. Environmental cleanup is frequently required because of this.
How Much Does Demolition Cost Per Square Foot?
The cost of demolishing a single home varies from $5 to $15 per square foot. This number is subject to change depending on various factors, including whether or not you have asbestos, are removing the foundation, what your house is constructed of, and where you reside.
Of course, the easiest method to figure out how much your demolition project will cost is to contact competent regional demolition contractors and have them give you an estimate.
They may provide you with an estimate over the phone or, more likely, come out and eyeball your property to give you the most precise quote possible based on your job’s intricacies.
Let’s look at some examples of national residential demolition costs…
In Ferndale, Michigan, a 1000 sq. ft. wood home with asbestos was leveled and returned to ground level for $10,000. This comes out to $10 per square foot.
For example, a 15,000-square-foot fire-damaged house in Culver City, California, was demolished for $75,000, and this comes to around $5 per square foot on a larger scale.
A few more examples are outlined below:
- Dallas, TX – For a final cost of $3,000, a 900 sq. ft. wood home was razed, which is about $3.30 per square foot.
- Bayview, SC – For $6,500, a 1-story, 1000-square-foot cottage with no foundation and vinyl siding was leveled. This comes out to about $6.50 per square foot.
- Fayetteville, NC – A 2,500-square-foot single-story fire-damaged house was demolished for $9,000 or $3.60 per square foot.
Commercial Building Demolition Cost
A $65,000 apartment building was razed in Holland, Michigan, with each unit measuring 900 square feet. The total cost of this apartment demolition was $65,000, and the cost per square foot was approximately $2.25.
A few more examples are listed below…
- Detroit, MI – The cost of demolishing a 2,400 square-foot two-story commercial structure with asbestos was about $13,000. This comes out to around $2.70 per square foot.
- Shoreline, WA – A 2,300-square-foot commercial structure with no basement was leveled for $11,000. This comes out to $4.70 per square foot.
- Baton Rouge, LA – For a final price of $18,000 or $4 per sq. ft., a four-story 4500 square foot four-plex building was demolished.
How to Demolish your House – Stepwise guide
- Deconstruct as much as possible on your own.
The quantity of material in your home that is accepted as reusable, even after years of exposure to use and strain, might amaze you. Not only that but you could also be shocked by your own ability to deconstruct your home!
Even if you’re a novice, all it takes is the proper attitude, some muscle, and a few basic tools to remove cabinets, walls, flooring, and other materials.
- Invite others to help themselves (and you).
This is a great approach to cleaning your property while assisting others if you’re okay with neighbors or a crew of trained volunteers coming into your home and taking stuff/items away for you.
They take the materials away, and you get your home deconstructed. It’s a win-win situation!
Any appliances you were going to replace, as well as windows and doors, may be of interest to a neighbor.
Empty homes may be a wonderful opportunity to offer free shelter. Molding and flooring, for example, might be reused by someone in need, so informing friends and organizations that you’re going to demolish your house—and that your possessions are available—is a simple way to show care.
- Donate the house to your local fire department.
If you’re considering demolishing your home to build something new on the premises or just want the vacant, clear property, some fire departments may be willing to provide a tax deduction for allowing you to use your house as a burn training facility.
During a burn exercise, the local fire department will enter and carry out a variety of training drills.
How to Demolish a House Step-by-Step
Ready to get started? We’ll show you how to deconstruct the interior of your house and remove items while saving usable materials.
Step 1: Prep for Demolition
It’s time to start planning your project after you’ve decided to demolish your home. There are numerous preliminary items to consider, as well as various equipment that you’ll need. Hand tools are best for disassembling the house’s interior, while heavy equipment is ideal for dismantling the building after it has been cleaned.
Step 2: Tear Down Drywall
It’s time to tackle the walls and sub-structures beneath them once the furnishings and fixtures have been removed from the room.
To remove drywall, remove any wallpaper with a chisel and putty knife. If you pull away wallpaper from the edge of each wall, it can be removed by hand.
You may then start taking down the walls. Locate any load-bearing walls and studs ahead of time. You’ll also need to avoid breaking or cutting any wires or pipes within the wall. Furthermore, if your house was constructed before 1978, double-check for asbestos and lead paint on the walls.
Step 3: Remove Doors and Frames
Remove the door hinge screws and take the door out of the jamb. You can pound away at the jamb with a hammer to remove it from the door frame. Doors in good condition may be sold to building supply stores or given to charity ReStores.
Step 4: Tear Out Flooring Materials
Remove any carpets in the loft bedrooms and hallways and any tiles or linoleum flooring in the bathrooms and kitchen after the interior rooms have been cleared.
Step 5: Repeat Process in Bedrooms Throughout House
After removing all the materials from one area, move on to the next bedrooms and corridors. Collect plumbing and wiring as you go and save any ornamental fixtures, including ceiling fans and lighting systems.
Step 6: Begin Bathroom Demolition
Demolishing a bathroom entails additional difficult deconstruction processes such as removing sinks, bathtubs, toilets, and other fixtures. Keep in mind that if you keep them whole, they may be reused later.
Remove the flooring materials and deconstruct the walls after emptying the bathroom of belongings, and the fixtures have been removed as previously instructed.
Step 7: Handle the Laundry and Utility Rooms
The kitchen, for example, has a range of different fixtures you’ll need to unplug and remove carefully. Then you may remove cabinets, demolish walls, and rip up the floors. Old cabinets are easily converted into firewood and may be reused in a new home if they are taken intact.
Step 8: Deconstruct the Kitchen and Dining Room
As with the bathroom deconstruction process, take care when demolishing a kitchen to remove all fixtures and preserve functional appliances for reuse. Move to the countertops once you’ve removed the refrigerator, oven, and other appliances. The countertop and cabinets may be separated using a chisel to break through the caulking and separate the counter from the wall. A pry bar may pull the counter away from the cabinet beneath it.
With the countertops gone, you may now concentrate on the cabinets, wall tiles, and flooring materials. If your hardwood floor panels are handled carefully, they can be recycled or salvaged, just like your kitchen cabinetry. Linoleum is more difficult to recycle since it isn’t biodegradable, but it is readily biodegrade
Step 9: Rent the Equipment You Need
If you’ve been working on the house for a long time, it’s time to start wrecking it. If you rent your demolition equipment, rental firms can advise you on the best type of machinery for the task and even provide training.
Step 10: Secure the Area
You’ll want to set up a safety perimeter around the worksite with signage, barriers, caution tape, and temporary fencing before demolishing your property with heavy equipment.
Step 11: Tear the House Down
A great approach is collapsing the house’s roof with the excavator’s arm, which lowers the danger of the structure collapsing and injuring people. After that, work your way down by demolishing each wall and floor one at a time. Pushing against the building while demolishing the home reduces the risk of keeping debris from flying toward you.
Level each floor and wall until you’ve finished the above floors, walls, and foundations. This phase of the procedure might take many hours, depending on the size of the home and the materials used in its construction.
Step 12: Clean Up the Debris
It’s time to empty the debris into your roll-off dumpster. Most hydraulic excavators and backhoes may be used to collect and dispose of debris in convenient containers.
A construction crew can use a bulldozer to push debris closer to your roll-off container, while wheelbarrows can be used to move smaller amounts of debris at a time. The debris may then be carried into your container or pushed in manually.
After removing the trash, the ground around the building must be graded and leveled. Hire specialists to perform this stage if at all possible.
