Demolition done right: from a backyard shed to a whole house

What demolition involves

The job spans a huge range: pulling down a backyard shed or pergola, stripping a kitchen and bathroom back to the frame, demolishing a garage, or clearing an entire house block. A proper quote includes labour, machinery, waste disposal and site clean-up — and tip fees are a large share of the cost, so the volume and type of material matters as much as the structure's size.

For a full house, there's more than knocking it down: council demolition permits, and disconnecting power, gas and water before anything comes down. Those are fixed costs that apply regardless of how quick the actual demolition is, and skipping them isn't an option.

Site access shapes the method. A block an excavator can reach comes down fast and cheap; a tight site that forces slower hand demolition costs more. The handover you want is a clear, level, safe site — not a pile someone else has to deal with.

How the cost works

A shed or small structure sits at the low end, a garage or internal strip-out lands in the mid thousands, and a full three-bedroom house demolition runs into the tens of thousands including permits and disconnections. These are indicative bands; the estimate on this page adjusts for area, construction and whether asbestos is present.

Asbestos is the number-one cause of blowouts. Anything built before 1990 is likely to contain it somewhere, and licensed removal at regulated disposal sites can add thousands. The other levers are construction — brick and double-storey take more machine time than timber and fibro — and waste volume, since disposal charges scale with tonnage and mixed waste costs more than sorted material.

Choosing the right contractor

Demolition is a licensed activity in many states, and asbestos removal is licensed everywhere — so verify both. Ask for the contractor's licence and, critically, get an asbestos inspection done before the job is quoted. Surprises discovered mid-demolition are the main reason fixed prices turn into variations, and a pre-1990 building should be tested, not assumed clean.

Removing more than ten square metres of bonded asbestos legally requires a licensed removalist — it is never a DIY or cut-price job. Confirm the quote includes waste disposal, the council permit, service disconnections and a clear, level site at handover. A contractor who covers all of that upfront is quoting the real job.

Mistakes to avoid

Demolition disputes are almost always about asbestos, disposal or permits that weren't in the quote.

• Quoting the job without an asbestos inspection on a pre-1990 building
• Letting anyone but a licensed removalist handle asbestos over ten square metres
• Accepting a price that doesn't spell out waste disposal, permits and disconnections
• Assuming the site will be left clear and level without confirming it in writing
• Choosing the cheapest quote when the disposal plan doesn't bear looking at
• Forgetting that power, gas and water must be disconnected before a house comes down