Demolition
Houses, unit blocks, shops, factories and service stations, under a licensed demolisher.
Areas we serve · North Shore
Demolition across the North Shore
Chatswood to Hornsby. Shale on the ridges, sandstone in the gullies, significant trees on the larger blocks, and high density redevelopment around the centres.
- Demolition licence AD214737, SafeWork NSW
- Demolition, asbestos, clearing, excavation and cartage together
- 4 North Shore suburbs, each with its own page
0456 220 552
or send the site details
Get a quote on the North Shore
Tell us the suburb and what is on the site. We will arrange a time to look.
What we do on the North Shore
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
4 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.
Chatswood
High density redevelopment around the centre, against boundaries and under traffic management, with shale on the ridge.
Killara
Large established blocks with significant trees, where tree approval is routinely the longest item on a programme.
Lindfield
Deep blocks falling away into gullies, so a dig can start in shale derived clay and finish in sandstone.
Hornsby
Ridge top stock with sandstone in the gullies below, and a lot of pre 1990 construction across the older streets.
The ground
Shale on the ridges, sandstone in the valleys
The Wianamatta Group forms ridges along the Pacific Highway corridor, including through Hornsby and Chatswood, with Hawkesbury Sandstone beneath and exposed in the valleys and gullies that cut between them.
In practice that means two different digs within a short distance of each other. A block on the ridge is usually working in clay rich shale derived soil; a block falling away into a gully is as likely to be in sandstone. Which one you are on changes the machine, the attachment and the rate, and it is not something that can be judged from the street.
A geotechnical report is worth more here than almost anywhere, because the variation is over a short distance rather than across the region.
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 layer, and on the older blocks frequently fill. Kept separate because what it contains decides where it can go.
- How it comes out
- Stripped and classified before it moves.
- What does it
- Standard bucket on a midi excavator, tippers for the volume.
Shale derived clay on the ridges
The Wianamatta Group forms the ridges along the highway corridor, and it weathers to reactive clay soils.
- How it comes out
- Dug with a toothed bucket. Wet weather affects the handling more than the digging.
- What does it
- Midi to large excavator with a toothed bucket.
Hawkesbury Sandstone in the gullies
Exposed where the ground falls away between the ridges, which can be a short distance from a shale block.
- How it comes out
- Hammered or ripped depending on the weathering, and priced by the cubic metre at an agreed rate.
- What does it
- Large excavator with a hydraulic hammer, zero tail swing against boundaries.
Steep driveways and battle axe access
The constraint that most often decides the machine, regardless of what the ground turns out to be.
- How it comes out
- Smaller plant working for longer, with spoil taken out as it is generated.
- What does it
- Mini and midi excavators, bogie tippers where the street or driveway will not take more.
North Shore
What shapes the work around here
The Pacific Highway corridor, covering Chatswood, Killara, Lindfield and Hornsby.
| What it is | Why it matters on the job |
|---|---|
| Ridge and gully in close proximity. | Which is the defining feature here and the reason two blocks a few streets apart can be completely different digs. |
| Large established blocks with significant trees. | Killara and Lindfield especially. Tree approval is routinely the longest item on a clearing programme. |
| Steep driveways and battle axe blocks. | Access is frequently the binding constraint on what machine can be used. |
| High density redevelopment around Chatswood and Hornsby. | Unit block demolition and basement excavation, against boundaries and under traffic management. |
| Heritage and conservation controls. | Common through the leafier parts, and a planning question to resolve before a demolition scope is written. |
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.
North Shore questions
What people here ask us first
Why can two nearby blocks be completely different digs?
Because the Wianamatta Group forms the ridges along the highway corridor while Hawkesbury Sandstone is exposed in the gullies between them. A block on the ridge is usually in shale derived clay; one falling into a gully is as likely to be in sandstone.
Can you get plant down a steep driveway or a battle axe block?
Often, but what size machine decides the programme. A block that only takes a mini excavator will take longer and cost more per cubic metre than the same volume on an open site, and that is settled at the site visit.
What about the trees?
They are frequently the longest item. Tree removal depends on approval, and in Killara and Lindfield particularly the plantings are significant enough that the approval process should start well before the work is programmed.
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.
North Shore
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 Pacific Highway corridor, covering Chatswood, Killara, Lindfield and Hornsby.
- Demolition, asbestos management, excavation and cartage quoted together
- 4 North Shore 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.