Dallas, TX · Member since 2014 · 189 posts · 39 votes
Yesterday after a day of showings, I stopped in at Cinco day Mayo gathering. One of my friends whom I haven't seen awhile talked to me about an interesting scenario.
He wanted to know how much it cost to completely demolish an older house and just keep the land. He heard from another source that would cost upwards of $60K. We talked about different parts of town he was interested in buying an older property with the purpose of demolishing it and keeping the land and building on it at a later time.
Question to the forum. What is actually involved in the demolition process? Can anybody speak form experience? Let's just use an old single story 3 bed 2 bathroom, 1200 sq. ft. pier and beam house as an example.
General Contractor · Denver, CO · Member since 2016 · 63 posts · 24 votes
10y
There are several factors for demolition. I am about to demolish one here in Denver and the actual demolition is only bid at $6,500. What can can expensive with demolition is the potential abatement. I've had a house that cost up to 30K to get rid of the asbestos in it. That where costs can sky rocket. There will also be city regulations about lot protection, sewer and water cutoffs and electric and gas cutoffs from your utility. In rough numbers the house I am about to demolish has the following numbers
General Contractor · Denver, CO · Member since 2016 · 63 posts · 24 votes
10y
There are several factors for demolition. I am about to demolish one here in Denver and the actual demolition is only bid at $6,500. What can can expensive with demolition is the potential abatement. I've had a house that cost up to 30K to get rid of the asbestos in it. That where costs can sky rocket. There will also be city regulations about lot protection, sewer and water cutoffs and electric and gas cutoffs from your utility. In rough numbers the house I am about to demolish has the following numbers
Severna Park, MD · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
10y
Tearing down a house can be fun ,As far as costs , thats all regional , permits , dump fees , getting utilities cut , etc . Be carefull , sometimes its better to secure the house as is , because its easier to get a permit in my area to tear down and rebuild . If you just tear down you have start all over when you want to build new . Around here a tear down goes for more than a vacant lot , due to the rules and regulations
San Francisco, CA · Member since 2015 · 786 posts · 717 votes
10y
When knocking a old home, you'll have to remove the power lines. You'll want to recycle heavier items like beams, studs, siding and concrete. Always factor in that you will likely have to do some new stormwater drainage systems and new underground utilities. And mentioned earlier in this post, the big cost comes from asbestos compliance and lead based paint compliance.
When it comes to asbestos abatement, the problem is that virtually every tear down has asbestos. The rule is asbestos abatement is required if there is more than 1% of asbestos. Virtually everything has 1% asbestos.
It is a mafia style cash cow for HUD/EPA.
-An asbestos good faith survey is usually required.
-Medical clearance checks before and after for abatement
-Special masks. In my state, they require masks that cost $6000 plus per mask.
-OSHA safety logs
-Asbestos training for each worker
-Safety Policy Manual
-Documented Safety meetings
-Tyvek suits
-Special procedures for asbestos removal and disposal
-Air monitor testing
The list goes on and on but hopefully you get the point. The rules were set-up so you won't be able to comply without subcontracting to an asbestos abatement company and that's where it gets expensive.
Some investors think they can avoid an asbestos abatement company and perhaps they are right. If you hire a licensed general contractor to do the demo, they are the one liable for the lack of asbestos testing. I would however question if a contractor really knew what they were doing in regards to demolishing a house if they don't know the asbestos regulations. In my state of Washington where you have to be a licensed contractor to flip houses (owned for less than 12-months) with the only exception (since last July) being if you hire a licensed general contractor, you're not so lucky.
By the way, the fine not following the long list of asbestos rules is around $25,000 and I have heard of people who got hit with $150,000 fines. Not to mention the liability to personal injury lawsuits for not doing asbestos properly. The problem with regulators is that if they see you didn't follow their regulations on one project, they can keep investing other projects you did. So, this is when it is nice not to be your own general contractor.
So long answer to your question is that is not that expensive to demo a house. Jumping through all the regulatory hoops is what costs so much money and to compensate the contractors for the amount of risk and compliance paperwork involved.
Contractor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2015 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
10y
@James Palin In short, there is no shortcut to demo, you may have computed it like "how many days in how many dumpsters is it going to take" kinda thing, but surely it's not.