Before picking up a sledgehammer or renting a dumpster, it’s worth digging deeper than the headline bid. Demolition projects have many moving parts, and smaller line items (or expenses) can quickly snowball into much larger surprises.
This guide maps out the rates typically associated with demolition and helps you plan accordingly, instead of panicking midway through your demolition project.
Hidden Permit Fees
Permitting for a demolition project involves more than just a sale at the front desk. When pulled together, many cities and counties have related charges that can trigger delays if you don’t speculate for them. Pay close attention to your local rules, because you want to make sure your contractor lays out every fee in writing, so everyone is aware of who is pulling those permits and when.
- Plan review add-ons: When you change something on your project midstream, perhaps you want more scope, usually your local jurisdiction will require that your project go back through the plan review, in addition to fees on your schedule.
- Additional right-of-way or lane closure permits: When you want to block a street or sidewalk to bring equipment or a dumpster, you will usually need to apply for them in addition to planning. See here fore more details
- Utility disconnects permits: When you notify the gas, water, and electrical companies that you will be shutting off their respective utility, they will usually charge a permission fee, with a lead time.
- Historic or tree removal approval: In historic districts and removing protected trees, additional paperwork and inspections have a cost associated with them.
Unexpected Debris Disposal Costs
Hauling and dumping debris will be much more than you budgeted for tearing a building down. The charges will be based on either weight, the material type and its distance from the closest transfer station or landfill. If you are billed for disposal by the ton, wet materials (like wet drywall) cost more to dispose of and weigh more, and mixed loads usually cost more than clean loads. Be sure to clarify and understand any terms related to rental duration, tonnage included, and the additional cost if you go over.
Check who will pay if you have to swap a can out early, and if the bid provides construction debris hauling for multiple trips. If you want to sort certain materials for recycling credits, be sure to check on the labor rate for that, and where the credits will show up in your invoice.
If you are planning a larger site or just want to compare options locally, if you are looking for commercial building demolition Post Falls, here is a map for reference:
Extra Equipment Charges
Even a “simple” tear down can require specialized tools once crews open up the structure. Unknown site conditions—thick concrete slabs, rebar density, or tight access to the site—may also lead to change orders. Be sure to clarify what would trigger upgrading equipment, and how those rates will be computed (hourly, daily or by task).
- Breaker attachments and saws: Thick slabs or reinforced pads may need heavy hammers and saw cutting which could add hours to the removal of the concrete.
- High reach machines or lifts: Sections or chimneys that exceed height will require specialized and higher rental daily minimums.
- Dust control and water pumps: During dry weather, water trucks will be used to stave dust, and after storms, the construction site may require many pumps to clear pooled water to start work again.
- Fire watch or after-hours lighting: Some jurisdictions require monitored hot-work times or temporary lighting to be billed back.
Insurance Considerations
Insurance never becomes top-of-mind until something goes wrong. Make sure that the contractor’s general liability and workers’ compensation policies are current and sufficient for your project’s size. Request insurance certificates naming you as an additional insured and confirm that the policy does not have exclusions and limits or deductibles you might assume should something happen, which you might not realize you have assumed.
If your building has a possibility of having lead paint or suspect materials, you will want to inquire how the insurance will respond to this environmental exposure or condition, and who will be responsible for tests and sampling. In many locations, if asbestos abatement is required, it is separate from conventional demolition, permitting and coverage are required. If you are living on-site, or moving-in lottery goods, you would also want to confirm whether your existing homeowner’s coverage assignments provide any charges or responsibilities.
Budget Buffer Recommendations
Having a cushion is the difference between maintaining your cool and scrambling for cash as it becomes required mid-project. Build your budget buffer before the first dumpster, then treat it as untouchable unless you face a true contingency. Having an appropriate reserve then allows for fast rational decision-making: like authorizing additional sorting to lower weight for disposal, or adding safety features quickly, or a safety/cleanup fee incurred because there are no cleanable surfaces left.
- Consider reserving approximately 10–20% of the total bid for contingencies to rude fi hidden materials, weather, or schedule slip.
- Consider using line-item bids as a way to see each element’s costs, which is a much easier way to itemize scope without gutting the whole project.
- Consider putting caps on allowances and/or overages for dumpsters by including an agreement with the terms of the accepted costs when each included tons are consented to in writing upfront followed by a per tons rate agreed to in writing as well.
- Book a pre-demo walk-through to review your scope in person for light junk removal services vs. structural demo and update the bid with any changes you agree upon.
- Document utility shutoffs and inspections requests to avoid rush fees or other re-inspection costs that will eat in your budget buffer.
A demolition bid (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd_sPs8Txa4&t=3s to learn more) is only as solid as the assumptions made to both develop and capture it. The more detailed questions you ask of your contractor related to permits and disposal, equipment, and insurance, as you build your solid budget buffer, the value to your timeline and bottom line are best protected. Do all of your planning tonight so you can spend a lot less tomorrow preventing surprises from occurring.
