Demolition
Houses, unit blocks, shops, factories and service stations, under a licensed demolisher.
Areas we serve · Illawarra
Demolition across the Illawarra
Wollongong down to Kiama. A narrow strip between the escarpment and the sea, steep blocks, and an industrial history that makes unknown fill a real consideration.
- Demolition licence AD214737, SafeWork NSW
- Demolition, asbestos, clearing, excavation and cartage together
- 7 Illawarra suburbs, each with its own page
0456 220 552
or send the site details
Get a quote in the Illawarra
Tell us the suburb and what is on the site. We will arrange a time to look.
What we do in the Illawarra
Five service groups, one contract
Most jobs need more than one of these. Quoted together they share a mobilisation, a programme and one set of truck movements instead of three contractors waiting on each other.
Asbestos Services
Identification, removal by licensed asbestos removalists, independent clearance and disposal.
Site Clearing & Land Remediation
Structures, trees, stumps, vegetation and contaminated ground off the block.
Excavation
Site cut, footings, basements, pools and rock, with the spoil carted.
Haulage & Waste
Truck and dog and tipper hire, material delivery, and demolition waste recycling.
Suburbs
7 suburbs, each with its own page
What changes between them is the housing stock, the access and what the ground turns out to be once the first metre is off.
Wollongong
Industrial history and dense older housing in a narrow coastal strip, so fill of unknown origin is a real possibility.
Shellharbour
Coastal subdivisions and newer estate land, a mix of ordinary knockdowns and site preparation.
Thirroul
Steep blocks between the escarpment and the sea, where access and gradient set the method before anything else.
Corrimal
Older housing on the lower slopes, with weathered fibro and cement sheet common across the pre 1990 stock.
Figtree
Hillside blocks under the escarpment, where benching and retaining come into most excavation scopes.
Dapto
Flatter land with established post-war housing and newer estate development on the edges.
Kiama
Coastal and rural blocks with significant plantings, and long hauls to a licensed disposal facility.
The ground and the site
What actually decides the price here
We do not have a published geological record we are willing to assert for every block in the Illawarra, so this page does not pretend to one. What does shape the work here is observable, and it is the same list every time:
- The escarpment shapes everything. A narrow coastal strip between the escarpment and the sea, which constrains access, sets gradients and limits where material can go.
- Steep sites are normal. Thirroul, Corrimal and Figtree in particular, where benching and retaining come into a scope that would be flat work elsewhere.
- Industrial history around Wollongong. Which makes fill of unknown origin and contaminated ground live possibilities rather than remote ones.
- Older coastal housing stock. Weathered fibro and cement sheet, handled more carefully than intact material.
A geotechnical report, where one exists, settles the ground question for a particular property far better than any regional statement can.
Digging here
Four conditions, and each one is dug differently
The geology named here is the published regional record. What any particular block is made of has to be found by looking at it.
Topsoil and colluvium
Material that has moved down the slope over time, which is why the ground under the escarpment behaves differently from flat land.
- How it comes out
- Stripped and classified, with the stability of the slope considered before the face is opened.
- What does it
- Standard bucket on a machine that can work safely on a grade.
Sloping and benched sites
The defining condition here. The fall across the block sets the volume, the batter and where a machine can stand.
- How it comes out
- Cut in benches from the high side, with each level stable before the next one is taken.
- What does it
- Smaller tracked machines able to work on a grade, and tippers staged at the street.
Stiffer natural ground
Below the surface material. Firmer, slower and usually still within reach of a toothed bucket.
- How it comes out
- Dug with a toothed bucket, reassessed as the dig goes down.
- What does it
- Midi to large excavator with a toothed bucket.
Rock and the need for retaining
Where rock appears, and where a cut will not stand without something holding it.
- How it comes out
- Rock hammered at an agreed rate. Structural retaining is designed by an engineer and the dig is planned around it.
- What does it
- Large excavator with a hydraulic hammer, and the excavation shaped to the retaining design.
Illawarra
What shapes the work around here
The southern end of the corridor, from Wollongong down to Kiama.
| What it is | Why it matters on the job |
|---|---|
| The escarpment shapes everything. | A narrow coastal strip between the escarpment and the sea, which constrains access, sets gradients and limits where material can go. |
| Steep sites are normal. | Thirroul, Corrimal and Figtree in particular, where benching and retaining come into a scope that would be flat work elsewhere. |
| Industrial history around Wollongong. | Which makes fill of unknown origin and contaminated ground live possibilities rather than remote ones. |
| Older coastal housing stock. | Weathered fibro and cement sheet, handled more carefully than intact material. |
| Distance from Sydney disposal facilities. | Haul distance is a larger share of the price here than in the metropolitan area. |
We work the whole corridor
Wollongong through Greater Sydney and the Central Coast to Newcastle. Western Sydney and the Northern Beaches are where we are most often.
Illawarra questions
What people here ask us first
Do the steep blocks under the escarpment change the method?
Yes. A cut is taken in benches from the high side with each level stable before the next, machines have to be able to work on a grade, and tippers are usually staged at the street rather than at the work face.
What happens if the fill turns out to be contaminated?
It is tested and classified before it moves, then taken to a facility licensed to receive that classification. Given the industrial history around Wollongong this is a real possibility rather than a remote one, and remediation can sit on the same contract.
Are you actually in the Illawarra or travelling down?
We work the corridor from Wollongong up to Newcastle, and the Illawarra is part of it. Travel is accounted for honestly in the quote rather than hidden in the rates.
What has to happen before a demolition can start?
A hazardous materials survey, removal and clearance of anything the survey finds, written confirmation that water, sewer, gas, electricity and telecommunications are disconnected, and the approval in place. The structure is the last part, not the first.
Is the slab and the footings included?
Only if that is what the new build needs. Sometimes a slab stays and is built over and sometimes it all comes out, and it is worth settling with the builder before the quote rather than afterwards.
Is Max licensed for the asbestos removal itself?
Max holds the demolition licence, AD214737. The asbestos removal is carried out by licensed asbestos removalists, and the air monitoring and clearance by an independent licensed assessor. The whole pathway is managed as one job so you are not coordinating three contractors.
Illawarra
Tell us the suburb and what is on the site
Send the address and a photograph or two and we will tell you what the job actually involves. The southern end of the corridor, from Wollongong down to Kiama.
- Demolition, asbestos management, excavation and cartage quoted together
- 7 Illawarra suburbs covered, each with its own page
- Builders, developers and homeowners all welcome
Prefer to talk
0456 220 552
Special demolition offer
Get your free demolition quote
Demolition and removal services from $15,999*. Tell us about your project and we'll help you understand the costs.
*Starting price applies to eligible demolition and removal projects only. Final pricing depends on structure size, materials, site access, location, waste disposal requirements, hazardous materials and any necessary approvals. A final quote will be provided following project assessment.