The demolition process, step by step
A house that took six months to build comes down in days — but only because weeks of invisible work happened first. Knowing what should happen is your best quality control. Here's a professional demolition from first call to clean block.
1. Site assessment and fixed quote (week 0)
A proper walkthrough: construction type, likely asbestos locations by era, access for machines and trucks, trees and crossovers, neighbouring structures, what stays (fences, sheds, trees). You get a fixed written quote with the asbestos allowance, permit costs, disconnections and site finish spelled out.
2. Permits lodged (weeks 1–3)
Section 29A consent to council (15 business days), building permit through the surveyor, planning check for overlays. A good contractor lodges everything the day you accept. Details in the permits guide.
3. Service abolishment (weeks 1–4, in parallel)
Electricity abolished at the pole, gas meter removed and service capped, water and sewer capped at the boundary by a licensed plumber. This is abolishment, not just disconnection — the supply is permanently removed so no live service runs under the machines. Lead times are 2–4 weeks, so this books early. See the disconnections guide.
4. Asbestos survey and licensed removal (2–4 days on site)
Licensed removalists strip and double-wrap all identified asbestos — cladding, eaves, wet areas, roofing — and cart it to a licensed facility. You should receive disposal dockets and a clearance. On pre-1990 homes this is a genuine stage, not a formality.
5. Soft strip and salvage (1–2 days)
Anything with value or reuse potential comes out: hardwood flooring and framing worth saving, red bricks by arrangement, fixtures, corrugated iron, scrap copper and steel. Whatever salvage deal you agreed shows up here — make sure it was agreed in writing.
6. Structural demolition (1–5 days)
The part everyone pictures: excavator with grab and hammer working the structure down in a controlled sequence, water spray running for dust suppression. A single-storey weatherboard is typically down in 1–3 days; double-storey or full brick takes 2–5. Trucks cycle loads to sorting and tipping continuously.
7. Slab, stumps and footings out
Concrete slabs are broken and carted (usually to a crusher for recycling), stumps pulled, footings dug out. "Demolition to natural ground" should mean nothing left buried — buried slabs and footings are a cowboy signature that surfaces expensively when the new build's excavation starts.
8. Site levelled and finished
The block is graded and, if you're rebuilding, proof-rolled or compacted to the agreed spec. Confirm the finish in the quote: rough level, clean level, or builder-ready compacted pad — they're different prices and different products.
9. Paperwork handover
Asbestos clearance and disposal dockets, tipping records, permit completion documentation. Your builder's surveyor will want these; so will a future buyer. A professional hands them over without being asked.
Your side of the job: the owner's checklist
While the permits run, five things are yours to do — all cheap, all painful to forget:
- Empty the house completely, including the roof cavity and under-floor. Contents left behind get tipped as mixed waste at your cost — the dearest possible way to dispose of a couch.
- Strip your keepsakes and saleables — fixtures, plants, the good letterbox — before the soft strip, on the written list agreed in the quote.
- Tell your insurer. The house policy should transition to vacant land/site cover; an uninsured gap between "house" and "block" is a real exposure.
- Redirect the mail and cancel services in your name — NBN, bins (councils will pause or remove them), any solar feed-in agreement.
- Talk to the neighbours. A friendly week's notice about trucks and dust prevents nearly every complaint. We do the formal notifications; the over-the-fence version is worth more coming from you.
The honest timeline
End to end: 4–8 weeks, of which only 3–7 days is machines on site. The spread is paperwork and lead times — which is why the contractor who starts the paperwork today beats the one who's "cheaper" but starts it after the next job. Get the clock started.