Interior Demolition
Strip-outs and gut demolition, taken back to the shell the next trade needs.
More on interior demolitionBuilding Demolition in New York City
Taking a whole structure down is a filing and a sequence long before it is ever a machine on site. The sequence is what keeps the neighbour's building standing and the street open.
What comes down, and what has to be protected
A whole-structure job is defined by everything around it. The building itself is usually the simplest part. What governs the work is what it is attached to, what runs under it, and what the street can carry while it is happening.
In much of New York a building shares a party wall with the one beside it, and that wall is the single most important thing on the site. It stays. We keep it supported while we remove the structure leaning on it, and we weather-protect it afterwards, because a wall that was never an exterior wall is now one.
The same logic applies below grade. We establish what the foundation is doing for the neighbour, where the sewer and water lateral run, and whether the cellar is shared or separate before we book a machine, rather than discovering it with one.
Who this is usually for
Not only developers. A detached garage that is past saving, a rear extension coming off a house before it is rebuilt, a fire-damaged frame on Staten Island, a two-family that is coming down so something else can go up on the lot.
Those jobs run on the same filings and the same sequence as a larger structure, and the part that decides the timeline is almost never the machine. It is what has to be agreed, filed and inspected before the machine is allowed to start.
How a building actually comes down
Four stages, and the first one is not demolition at all.
Disconnection
Gas, electric, water and sewer are cut and capped by the utility or under permit, and nothing starts until that is confirmed rather than assumed. This is the stage that most often sets the real start date, because it depends on other people's schedules.
Survey and support
We establish what is attached, what is shared, and what is above and below. Where a party wall or an adjoining structure needs support, we put it in first and take it out last.
Soft strip, then structure
Finishes and non-structural material come out, then we bring the frame down in an order that keeps what remains stable. We drop material where we can control and reach it, not simply where it falls easily.
Slab, foundation and clear
If they are in scope, we take the slab and foundation out and leave the hole to the depth agreed. If they are staying, we leave them clean and intact for whatever is going on top.
Filings, and what they mean for your start date
A full demolition requires a Department of Buildings permit, and the filing is prepared by a registered design professional. That is a real lead time, and it is the reason a demolition start date is a date after a filing rather than a date after a phone call.
Nothing on site shortens it, so we plan around it instead. On the first call we tell you which parts of the work can run alongside a filing and which cannot. We hold dates against the filing rather than against a hopeful guess.
What has to happen before a demolition can start
Five things, in this order, and only the last one is ours. The two at the top are the ones that move a start date, so they are the two we ask about on the first call.
-
Asbestos assessment
The property owner
Required before a permit can issue for work in a building put up before 1 April 1987. It is carried out by a DEP-certified investigator and filed by the owner.
-
Abatement, where it is found
A licensed abatement contractor
Only where the investigator determines the work is an asbestos project. This is the step that moves a date by weeks rather than days.
-
Department of Buildings permit
Your architect or engineer
A full demolition permit is filed by a registered design professional. This is the lead time behind every honest demolition start date.
-
Utilities cut and capped
The utility company
Gas, electric, water and sewer, disconnected by the utility or under permit and confirmed rather than assumed.
-
We start
Breakara
Survey and support first, then soft strip, then structure. From here the programme is ours to hold.
What Breakara needs from you before pricing
None of it is required to have a conversation. Each one turns a range into a price.
-
What the structure is
Storeys, rough footprint, construction type, and whether it is detached, semi-attached or attached. A detached garage and a semi-attached two-family are not variations of the same job.
-
Where the filing stands
Whether an architect or engineer is already engaged, whether the asbestos assessment is done, and whether anything has been filed. This decides the calendar more than anything on site does.
-
What the site gives you
Street frontage, driveway, how close a truck can get, and whether there is anywhere to stage material. A site a machine can reach and a site everything has to be carried off are different prices for the same building.
-
What is in scope below grade
Whether the slab and foundation are coming out, and to what depth the hole is to be left. This is the most common source of a scope argument later, so it is worth settling first.
What the site looks like afterwards
Cleared to the depth agreed, debris carried to a facility licensed to receive it, and the adjoining structures left protected. Where we have exposed a party wall, we leave it weather-protected rather than open.
If the slab and foundation are staying, we leave them clean and intact. If they are not, we leave the hole to the agreed depth with the sides in a condition the next contractor can work from, which is not the same thing as simply empty.
Questions about building demolition
How long does the filing take?
That is the design professional's answer, not ours, because it depends on the filing and on the agency's queue. What we can tell you is which parts of the sequence run in parallel with it and which cannot start until it clears. That is usually the more useful half of the answer.
Can you demolish part of a building and leave the rest?
Yes, and it is a different kind of job. Partial demolition is closer to interior demolition in its care and closer to full demolition in its filing, and we support and weather-protect the part that stays as though it were a party wall. We price it on what stays, not on what goes.
Who is responsible for the neighbour's building?
Practically, everyone involved, which is why we survey and support before we bring a machine in. Where adjoining structures are affected, we agree the protection in writing before work begins, and we arrange access to the neighbour's property rather than assuming it.
Does the price include taking the debris away?
Yes. Construction and demolition debris leaves a New York site with a registered carter and has to reach a facility licensed to receive it, so the containers and the trips are part of the estimate. The volume from a whole structure is knowable in advance, which is why it can be priced rather than guessed at.
What if we find something unexpected?
Underground tanks, an older structure inside a newer one, and material nobody knew was there are the three that turn up most. We handle all three the same way. We stop work on that element, tell you what we have found, and agree the change in scope with you before anything else happens.
The rest of what Breakara does
A whole-structure job usually involves every one of these before the site is clear.
Concrete Removal
Sidewalks, slabs, driveways, steps and foundations, broken out and carried off the site.
More on concrete removal
Debris Removal
Loaded, carried and delivered to a registered facility, planned into the job.
More on debris removalTell us what is coming out, and where it is.
You will get a straight answer on the first call, including whether it needs a filing before it can start.