Demolition
Houses, unit blocks, shops, factories and service stations, under a licensed demolisher.
Areas we serve · Inner West and Ryde
Demolition in the Inner West and Ryde
Strathfield to Epping. Older, denser stock on narrow blocks, with semis, terraces and shared walls that make partial and hand demolition the normal job rather than the exception.
- Demolition licence AD214737, SafeWork NSW
- Demolition, asbestos, clearing, excavation and cartage together
- 5 Inner West and Ryde suburbs, each with its own page
0456 220 552
or send the site details
Get a quote in the Inner West and Ryde
Tell us the suburb and what is on the site. We will arrange a time to look.
What we do in the Inner West and Ryde
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
5 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.
Strathfield
Large older houses on deep blocks, with heritage controls in pockets that settle what can be removed before a scope is written.
Burwood
Dense older stock and apartment redevelopment pressure, on streets where truck standing is the first logistical question.
Ryde
Freestanding post-war housing going to duplex and apartment redevelopment, with basement excavation alongside demolition.
Gladesville
Older housing on sloping blocks running down towards the river, where the fall and the access set the method.
Epping
Established housing under strong apartment redevelopment pressure, which brings unit block demolition and basement digs.
The ground
Shale country, not sandstone
The Cumberland Plain is underlain by the Wianamatta Group: Ashfield Shale, Minchinbury Sandstone and Bringelly Shale, sitting above the Hawkesbury Sandstone most people picture when they think of Sydney geology.
That changes how a dig runs. Weathered shale usually comes out with a ripper or a toothed bucket rather than a rock hammer, which is a different machine and a different rate. The soils it weathers to are clay rich with appreciable shrink and swell, which is why so many blocks out here classify as reactive. The spoil is heavier and wetter than sand, it holds water after rain, and it is classified differently when it leaves. Bringelly Shale in particular breaks down quickly once an excavation is opened up, so a cut left open over a wet week is not the surface it was when it was made.
It still varies block by block, and none of this is a statement about any particular property. It is the reason we look at a site before pricing the dig.
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 fill
The first metre or so, and on an older block it is frequently fill rather than natural ground. What it contains decides where it can go.
- How it comes out
- Stripped and kept separate from what is below it, then classified before it moves.
- What does it
- Standard bucket on a midi or larger excavator, tippers or a truck and dog for the volume.
Residual clay
Weathered from the Wianamatta shale above. Clay rich, reactive, heavy when wet and slow to dry out after rain.
- How it comes out
- Dug with a toothed bucket. On a wet site the timing matters more than the machine, because clay that has taken water is harder to handle and heavier to cart.
- What does it
- Midi to large excavator with a toothed bucket. Truck and dog where the street allows it.
Weathered shale
Ashfield or Bringelly Shale broken down near the surface. Firmer than the clay above and usually still within reach of a ripper.
- How it comes out
- Ripped or dug with a toothed bucket rather than hammered, which is a different rate from rock.
- What does it
- Large excavator with a ripper or heavy duty bucket.
Tight sites and basement digs
The inner west constraint is the opposite of the Hawkesbury one: the ground is workable and there is nowhere to put anything.
- How it comes out
- Spoil out as it is generated, the face battered or shored to the engineer design, and the trucks sequenced against the machine rather than booked for the week.
- What does it
- Mini to midi excavators, zero tail swing against boundaries, tippers at the kerb.
Inner West and Ryde
What shapes the work around here
The eastern edge of the Wianamatta shale, where it runs out through Ashfield towards the city.
| What it is | Why it matters on the job |
|---|---|
| Older and denser than the west. | Federation and inter-war stock on narrow blocks, often with no side access at all. |
| Terraces and semis mean shared walls. | Which turns a knockdown into partial or hand demolition, with a party wall that has to be protected rather than pushed. |
| Street parking is the truck constraint. | On a narrow inner west street, whether a truck can stand at all is the first question. |
| Dual occupancy and apartment redevelopment around Ryde and Epping. | Which brings unit block demolition and basement excavation into the mix. |
| Heritage controls in pockets. | Burwood and Strathfield in particular, where what can be removed is a planning question before it is a demolition one. |
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.
Inner West and Ryde questions
What people here ask us first
Can you demolish a semi or a terrace without damaging the one next door?
That is partial demolition and it is routine work. The party wall is propped, the roof junction detailed and the wall left weatherproof. The demolition at the boundary is done by hand rather than with a machine.
There is nowhere for a truck to stand. What then?
On a narrow inner west street that is the first question rather than the last. Where a truck cannot legally stand, the work goes out in smaller vehicles staged against the machine, and traffic management is arranged as part of the job.
Are there heritage restrictions to worry about?
In pockets, particularly around Burwood and Strathfield. What can be removed is a planning question that is better settled before a demolition scope is written than after.
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.
Inner West and Ryde
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 eastern edge of the Wianamatta shale, where it runs out through Ashfield towards the city.
- Demolition, asbestos management, excavation and cartage quoted together
- 5 Inner West and Ryde 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.