If you want to demolish the house yourself, all the above steps (besides hiring a contractor) still apply. DIY demolition is not for the faint of heart. It can be a lot of work and may require you to operate heavy machinery.
But if you’re confident, let’s talk about what you need to do to get this house torn down.
Rent A Dumpster
Unless you own a dump truck, you’re going to need to pay someone to haul away all the debris. It’s likely you’ll need at least one 40-yard dumpster, if not more. The size and number of dumpsters you need will depend on how large the home is.
Contact a few area dumpster rental companies to see what they recommend for your house and how much they charge.
Secure Key Tools
If you’re choosing to disassemble by hand in full or partially, you’ll need some key tools. Here are some examples of what will be helpful:
- Sledgehammer
- Clawhammer
- Crowbar
- Pry bar
- Nail puller
- Chisel
- Power drill
- Hammer drill
- Shovel
- Reciprocating saw
- Circular saw
- Basic hand tools (pliers, screwdrivers, hammer, utility knife, etc.)
If you’re working in a house with disconnected electrical, you’re also going to need a generator or batteries to power lights and power tools.
Secure Safety Gear
Debris can be dangerous, especially when you’re using tools to demolish something. It can fall on your head, fly into your eye or be breathed into your lungs. Here’s the gear you’ll need to help protect yourself:
- Safety glasses
- Ear protection
- Work gloves
- Hard hat
- Ventilation mask
- Work boots with a safety toe
Secure Heavy Equipment
Using heavy equipment is the cheapest and quickest way to demolish a home. Renting a jackhammer will save you a lot of time and backache over trying to break up a foundation by hand.
If you’re curious about using a skid steer (like a Bobcat®) or excavator, some states require you to be licensed or temporarily permitted to operate them. You’ll need to contact your local heavy equipment rental place to see if they offer training and whether you need to be permitted or licensed.
Remove Doors, Frames And Flooring
Start the demolition project by removing all doors, windows and frames. Using a driver, take the doors off the hinges and haul them to the dumpster. Use a pry bar to remove door frames.
For windows, on the inside, score around the window casing with a utility knife. Use a hammer and chisel to separate the casing from the wall. Outside, use a pry bar to pry away siding and get to where the window is nailed in. Pull out the nails and remove the window.
How you remove flooring depends on the type of flooring. While carpets and vinyl can be easily cut and pulled up, hardwood flooring and tile will take more elbow grease. Especially if you want to salvage pieces, research the best ways to remove the type of flooring you have.
Deconstruct The Bathrooms, Kitchen, Utility And Laundry Rooms
Before you start pulling out appliances and fixtures, you need to shut off and disconnect the electrical, gas and water to these areas if you haven’t already disconnected them to the whole house. The last thing you want is a water mess or a shocking surprise trip to the hospital.
Start deconstructing these rooms by disconnecting and removing all appliances. The obvious ones, like your oven, refrigerator, washer and dryer will be the easiest to pull out. It may take more work to remove your furnace, hot water heater and dishwasher.
After you’ve got your appliances out, you need to remove fixtures. The bathtubs, showers, lights, sinks and cabinets all need to be pulled out and either trashed or salvaged.
Begin Heavy Duty Demolition
Once you’ve got the important pieces pulled out, it’s time to demolish. Even with heavy equipment, this can be a long process, taking a day or more depending on the size of the house.
If you don’t feel comfortable operating heavy-duty machinery, especially for a larger home with multiple floors, now is the time to rethink hiring a professional.
While this is no means exhaustive, here are the basic steps to doing it yourself:
- Cave the roof in on itself using an excavator.
- Push all walls inward.
- Move the debris into the dumpster.
- Break up the foundation and dump it.
$14,250
(1,500 sq. ft. house)
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House Demolition Costs
House demolition is a serious undertaking. It can be fun to do some of your own demo work to release stress, and it will save you some money. However, there are many elements of a full house demolition that can be dangerous or require a trained professional to remove the structure safely. You will also have to factor in related costs like grading, debris removal, foundation removal, and hourly rates for the deconstruction of items that can be salvaged or recycled.
Generally speaking, doing a deconstruction is going to cost about 25-50% more than a standard total demolition. However, for those who are financially or socially conscious and want to maximize materials or donate functional pieces rather than destroying them, it is an option.
Demolition permits are required for all building demo projects. Even if you are doing the work yourself, you need to contact your city building codes enforcement department to find out how much permits will cost and how to get them. Some demolition contractors will take care of permits for you, so be sure to ask about this.
Professional house demolition: 1,500 square foot home.
Standard demolition labor ($4-$15 per square foot) | $6,000-$22,500 for full demolition |
Deconstruction | $24,000 and up |
Building/Demolition permits | $200 |
Debris removal | $300-500 (if not included in estimate) |
Foundation removal | $1,000-$5,000 |
Site grading per 1,000 square feet | $1,000-$2,000 |
Other considerations and costs
- Homes built before 1985 may have asbestos and/or lead paint in the structure. Your contractor might require lead and asbestos testing to determine whether abatement is needed. Lead abatement costs about $17,000 for a 1,500 square foot home, on average. Asbestos removal runs $200 to $400 per hour, with an inspection charge of $500.
- If you need to seal off an old septic tank, you may pay an additional charge of up to $5,000.
- Depending on your location and property accessibility, you may have to arrange for temporary structures, traffic re-routing, and road closures so that the heavy equipment can get to the job site and complete the work safely. This may be taken care of by your demolition crew, but it also may incur an additional charge from some companies.
Check out our guide if you need a loan for your home improvement project.
DIY considerations
- You can often get started on a demolition project yourself and save a lot of labor costs by taking care of simple demo projects like taking out cabinets, removing non-load bearing walls, removing appliances and built-in fixtures, and other small tasks.
- Never start demolition near gas lines, electric meters, or other potentially dangerous utilities without notifying the utility companies. They will come to the property and remove or disconnect all utility connections. They will also mark the ground for utilities like gas lines, power lines, and other underground hazards.
- If your home has asbestos or lead, you CANNOT do the demolition yourself. These situations require contained abatement practices that must be completed by trained, licensed professionals.
References
- Craftsman Estimator Costbook, complete series year 2019.
- Latest prices found on Home Depot and other vendor Web sites.
- Literature review of DIY Web sites.
How much does it cost to demolish a house in your city?
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Cost by city
(1,500 sq. ft. house)
- New York, NY$22,891
- Bronx, NY$18,810
- Brooklyn, NY$15,677
- Philadelphia, PA$19,558
- Washington, DC$16,971
- Atlanta, GA$15,355
- Miami, FL$13,965
- Fort Lauderdale, FL$14,629
- Minneapolis, MN$17,161
- Chicago, IL$19,995
- Houston, TX$20,623
- San Antonio, TX$13,844
- Austin, TX$15,675
- Denver, CO$13,244
- Phoenix, AZ$13,973
- Las Vegas, NV$15,337
- Los Angeles, CA$17,281
- San Diego, CA$15,681
- San Jose, CA$18,941
- Seattle, WA$13,867
Local costs have been calculated by accounting for labor and material cost differences across different cities. To get accurate cost estimates, indicate yours: