Calling in the Contractors

What Determines the Cost of Your House Demolition?

1 September 2017 by Frank Elliott

When you approach a demolition contractor to perform your house demolition project, they will give you a quote that indicates how much they will charge to do the job. The quote will include the price of everything, but the big question on your mind may be: what factors determine the quoted price? Every demolition job has unique requirements and the price quoted varies based upon these requirements.

Here are a number of common factors that can affect the cost of your house demolition job.

Construction materials used. The type of materials used to build your house can affect the price of your demolition job in a number of ways. The more robust the construction material is, the more difficult the demolition job will be. Because concrete is a harder than wood, for example, a concrete house will generally cost more to demolish compared to a similar-sized wooden house. Aside from that, the presence of hazardous construction materials such as asbestos will increase the cost of demolition, as such materials require special handling, removal and disposal.

Size of the house. Do you live in a single-floor or multi-floor house? You'll be charged per square footage of your house, so the higher the number of storeys your house has, the more it will cost to demolish.

Waste handling and disposal needs. What you intend to do with the construction waste generated during your demolition job can also affect the quoted price. If your waste is recyclable and you would like to take it to a waste recycling facility yourself so you can re-use it later on, then it means your quote will not include the cost of waste removal and disposal. But if the waste is non-recyclable and you would like your demolition contractor to arrange to have it removed from your property and disposed at the landfill, then you should be ready to pay extra for hauling costs and tipping fees.

Scope of the demolition job. Whether you require partial demolition service or complete demolition service can also affect the price you will be asked to pay. If you need a portion of your house's foundation to remain so you can build a new house on it, then should expect to pay a price lower than that charged for complete demolition that includes removal of the foundation.

To know what your house demolition quote includes, you should ask your demolition contractor to disclose what you are being charged for.

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