How to Hire the Right Demolition Crew

Billy Gafford manages Handyman Connection, a company dedicated to bringing Birmingham area homeowners the best in handyman and home repair services. In this article, he gives helpful hints and tips about hiring a demolition crew when it is time to have that old building destroyed.

Buildings and houses are like milk: They have a shelf life and an expiration date. Though your old building may last a lot longer than supermarket dairy products, it too may someday go bad. The first step before building anew is of course, demolition of the old. But demolition is a serious job and can be risky, costly and environmentally unfriendly if done improperly. So before you go out and hire the wrong demolition crew, here are a few tips to make sure you hire right.

• Safety - Whether you are demolishing in a suburban or urban environment one thing remains certain: You want the utmost in safety. Standard methods of demolition include explosives, bulldozers, wrecking balls and excavators. One thing they all have in common is that all are dangerous. Shock waves and flying debris are regular occurrences during any demolition and stringent safety measures should be taken at any demolition site. Before hiring your demolition crew or contractor, you will want to carefully scrutinize their safety track record and ensure that they have maintained a meticulous approach to safety. While demolishing an existing structure may not seem complex, a wealth of factors should be assessed to ascertain proper safety. Do your homework first, then hire. You could save yourself some aggravation later and maybe even save a life.
• Licensed and Insured - This is of paramount importance when hiring a demolition crew. While a controlled demolition should keep surrounding properties safe, accidents do occur. Unfortunately, a botched demolition job can sometimes do incredible damage. This can wind up costing you an incredible amount of money, as well as the hassle of going to court. Under no circumstances should you ever allow an unlicensed, uninsured contractor demolish anything on your property, big or small. Check your demolition crews’ insurance and then check it again. You won’t regret being cautious.
• Reusing and Recycling Deconstructed Materials - Thanks to today’s better recycling technologies, few materials from the demolition site cannot be recycled or salvaged. Debris that can be recycled includes wood, concrete, gypsum, asphalt, metal, brick, plastic, glass and even tree stumps and earth from the site. Find out what your demolition crew intends to do with cleaned up debris. There’s no reason for good materials to go to waste or cost you dumping fees. Some materials found in the demolition site, such as mercury and asbestos, are also hazardous and should always be properly disposed of.
• Cost - Assessing cost of demolition might seem complicated, but calculations used throughout the industry can help you gauge just how much your demolition project should cost. Demolition is generally calculated in terms of square feet, with acceptable average of $2 to $3 per square foot. However, should the site require asbestos abatement or special cleaning, you can quickly find estimates doubling or tripling in price. Another factor to consider is salvage. Many building materials from the demolition site can be salvaged and reused. These can be quite valuable and as such you should be aware of any salvageable materials that will remain at the demolition’s end. If your demolition contractor agrees to haul and salvage reusable materials then the price should change accordingly. As with any contracting job, you should always shop around a bit and ask as many questions as possible. If your demolition job is big enough, chances are good that demolition contractors will bid to do it and you can end up paying a pretty decent price.
• Site Restoration - Of course, any demolition job is going to leave a tremendous mess on the site. While not all demolition contractors handle restoration or cleanup of a site, many do. Just like the demolition itself, stringent safety measures need to be enforced when cleaning a recently demolished site. Hazardous materials and debris abound and must be removed and discarded using the best means for the job. Oftentimes special permits are necessary to remediate and dispose of hazardous materials. Always make sure that your demolition contractor is able to obtain the necessary permits. Illegal dumping is unfortunately all too common among the more disreputable contractors. Don’t let yourself get duped into disposing of materials simply to cut costs. It is illegal and the consequences can be severe.
• Demolition vs. Deconstruction - Sometimes a building is made almost entirely from components that can be dismantled, instead of actual demolition. In these cases, the “deconstruction” crew goes through the building one piece at a time remediating hazardous components (such as asbestos insulation or lighting fixtures containing mercury) and salvaging valuable construction materials such as copper wires, pipes and fixtures. Dismantling a large building is, when possible, a far more sustainable method of removing an older structure. However, the process is also significantly lengthier as well as generally costlier. You will have to seriously assess the ecological benefits against the cost and decide if deconstruction is right for you.

Whether big or small, demolition is serious business. But if you follow the above guidelines carefully, you should be assured a safe and thorough demolition. Keep it safe, secure and affordable, and good luck with your new project.