Commercial and Industrial Demolition
Shops, warehouses and factories, taken down around the access
Demolition of commercial and industrial buildings: retail tenancies, offices, warehouses, factories and the plant inside them. Structural steel and concrete frames come apart differently from housing, and on these sites the access and the staging usually decide the programme before the structure does.
Carried out under demolition licence AD214737
Before anything starts
Six things have to be settled first, and not all of them are ours
Most jobs that run late run late on this list rather than on the work itself. Each line says who owns it.
- 01
Hazardous materials survey
Who Max, through an accredited laboratory
Commercial stock carries more than fibro: lagging, insulation, old switchboards and fire doors all need identifying before anything is disturbed.
- 02
Decommissioning of plant and process equipment
Who You, through your plant contractor
Tanks, compressors, process lines and refrigerant systems have to be made safe and drained before demolition touches them.
- 03
Service disconnection, including three phase supply
Who You, with each authority
Commercial supply is a longer lead time than domestic, and on an industrial site it is often the single longest item.
- 04
Demolition approval and conditions
Who You or your certifier
Commercial approvals commonly carry conditions on hours, noise, traffic and dust.
- 05
Traffic management and hoarding
Who Max, with council
Where the building fronts a footpath or trucks have to stand in a traffic lane.
- 06
SafeWork notification
Who Max
Lodged where the work requires it, with the notice period the regulation sets.
Scope
What the quote does and does not cover
Stated side by side so there is nothing to discover later. Anything in the right hand column can be added, it is simply priced separately.
Included as standard
| Item | What that means |
|---|---|
| The structure | Building, mezzanines, racking, awnings, loading docks and attached outbuildings |
| Structural steel | Cut down in a controlled order and separated for scrap recovery |
| Concrete frame and slab on grade | Where the scope includes them |
| Separation | Steel, concrete, brick and timber separated as they come down |
| Cartage | All demolition waste removed as it is generated |
| Site protection | Hoarding, dust and sediment control, protection of adjoining tenancies |
Quoted separately
| Item | Why it is separate |
|---|---|
| Plant decommissioning | Specialist work, done before demolition and by others |
| Underground fuel tanks | A scope of its own, with its own validation. See Service Station Demolition. |
| Contaminated soil | Classified before it can be priced |
| Shared walls and party structures | Whoever shares them has to authorise the work |
| Asbestos in plant and process equipment | Removed by the licensed removalist, after decommissioning |
| Environmental site assessment | Consultant work, not demolition work |
The detail
What makes a commercial job different from a house
- The structure is engineered. A steel portal frame or a concrete frame has a load path that has to be respected on the way down. It comes apart in an order, not in a direction.
- The access is usually the constraint. A tenancy in a strip, a factory in an industrial estate, or a site with one gate all change where plant can sit and how many trucks can turn.
- The neighbours are trading. Adjoining tenancies stay open, which puts hours, noise and dust in the contract rather than in the conversation.
- The waste is worth more. Structural steel and clean concrete both have real recovery value, which is why separation on site matters more here than anywhere else.
- What is in the ground is unknown until it is tested. Industrial history means fill of unknown origin, old tanks and contaminated soil are all live possibilities.
- Staging is normal. Part of a site demolished while part keeps operating, which has to be designed in rather than improvised.
What we need to quote it
- The address
- So we can look at access and what is around it
- Photographs
- One from the street and one of the work itself
- Any reports you hold
- Hazardous materials, structural, survey or levels
- Your dates
- What has to be finished by when, and what is waiting on it
We attend the site before quoting anything substantial.
Industrial ground is rarely clean ground
Fill of unknown origin, buried waste and contamination all have to be classified before they can be priced or carted. Finding out after the structure is down is the expensive order.
Before you book
What people ask about this one
Can you demolish part of a building while the rest keeps trading?
What happens to the structural steel?
Do you take the slab?
What about asbestos in an industrial building?
Who deals with the plant?
Get a quote
Send the address and what the building is
The address, the construction type, roughly when it was built and whether any plant is still in it tells us where the real work is. We attend commercial sites before quoting.
- Demolition, asbestos management, remediation and cartage quoted together
- Staged demolition where part of the site keeps operating
- Structural steel and clean concrete separated for recovery
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.