What Influences the Cost of a Commercial or Industrial Demolition Project?

The well-informed, prepared consumer typically saves money. It is advantageous to understand the cost factors behind any product or service, so as to see through extraneous charges. Below, we list cost factors in a typical demolition project. Appreciating these elements will help you win the best price for your building demolition needs.

Price factors in Building Demolition

Oregon’s businesses (and, indeed, companies all along the West Coast) trust us to safely, efficiently dismantle structures. As expert industrial demolition contractors, we know the following elements affect the price of commercial demolition:

Oregon’s demolition fees (or those of your state). Actually, the municipality often handles demolition fees – to apply for demolition in Portland, for instance, you must submit a handful of permits and fees to the Permitting Services office. Industrial demolition contractors often have to work with EPA standards, as well. Demolition fees vary from city to city and are a direct cost of demolition. Other direct costs include filling in land once project is complete; insurance costs; site security; landfill fees; disconnecting utilities; and testing for environmental standards.

Volume of material to be demolished and hauled away. This is a self-obvious price factor in demolition. The larger the building to be removed, the more man-hours and resources will be required – and the bigger the overall price. Expect to pay more for demolishing multiple stories and larger square footage. Demolition contractors will also factor in the overall duration of the project.

Return in salvage materials. Most industrial demolition contractors offer clients some sort of reimbursement for salvage materials gleaned from a demo project. Steel, concrete and many other materials may earn money through recycling. The value of salvage material therefore decreases the overall cost of demolishing a building.

Removal of foundation and subterranean levels. Demolition of basements and other underground levels is more complex for contractors. You can expect to pay more for removal of extensive foundations or underground structures.

Environmental issues. This is especially true in industrial demolition, since these buildings typically contain more hazardous substances. The EPA requires special abatement procedures as part of demolition. These abatement techniques pose extra costs to demolition contractors and clients. For instance, in residential demolition, you can expect to pay $2-3 more per square foot to cover safe asbestos removal.

Concrete removal. Elder Demolition maintains a huge concrete crusher for cost-effective building demolition. Oregon’s other demolition contractors, however, will probably have to pay a fee for concrete crushing and recycling – and, of course, they’ll pass that fee on to customers. (Our truck allows us to repurpose concrete on-site to use for gravel infill and other purposes.)

Demolition site. The building’s surroundings must be taken into account for commercial demolition. For instance, demolishing a building that’s surrounded by skyscrapers poses additional challenges to contractors. Working in a tight urban environment requires extra safety precautions as well as specialized equipment.

These are the major cost factors in a demolition project. If you’re looking for a competitive price on demolition services, contact us today. We at Elder Demolition specialize in building demolition for any structure, including industrial demolition and commercial demolition. Oregon, Washington and California are the primary states we do business in, but we also serve other states across the great American West. Our fleet of advanced demolition machines saves our customers money. Let us provide you with top-shelf demolition at a reasonable price.