Need help on quote for house demo.

[nedly05]

Hey guys, We just got asked to give a quote for demoing a 2 story wood frame house with porches on 2 sides. The thought is to do the demoing with our 490 and load out with the 70. The house is around 6000 square feet. Hope to have a coulple tri-axles and a tandem working.Trucks around here are $65-$75/ hr and dumping is $130/ton. The dumps are 20 miles away for one dump, and around 45 for the others. The further away dumps are cheaper but in the end it may not cost less after trucking.

SOOOOO, how do you figure a price for something like this, is there anyway to estimate what a house weighs, any rule of thumb for $/square feet?? I really hope we get it, it will be a blast!!!!
Thanks for any and all help!!!:thumbsup

[dayexco]

pull house into a pile, get on top with the 490, start spinning cookies.....will turn that pile into little toothpicks greatly reducing the amount of truckloads hauled out. make sure you have a shield plate on the bottom of your undercarriage. here, we get $13 a sq ft plus tip fees. this doesn't include foundation demo or backfill/compaction for the basement

[Dirtman2007]

WOW! $130 a ton for dumping. I thought $65 was high here in NC. There are places here in NC that take "construction debris" (everything but household trash, furniture, appliances) and charge alot less per ton than the regular landfills. I would check on a few if they exist were you live. Also Plan on concrete and where to get rid of it, try to remove all bricks and concrete from the wood, it does not take many bricks to make a ton! When I figure on removing concrete I take the first figure on the amount of load needed to be hauled and then double it, and then I have the total number of loads of concrete/ bricks. It adds up fast when you pile it up so figure on extra.

[nedly05]

Thanks for the good input, there are places available to dump other than landfills, but they are a little scetchy if they dont have a permit, I don't like to get in to that stuff. I like to keep m nose clean.:D

[Dirtman2007]

Thanks for the good input, there are places available to dump other than landfills, but they are a little scetchy if they dont have a permit, I don't like to get in to that stuff. I like to keep m nose clean.:D

hey, we hauled to one place that charged $10.00 less a ton if you paid in cash. I guess you can't get taxed on money they don't know about:beatsme
maybe little scetchy.

[nedly05]

Cash deals don't bother me, it's illegal dumping that scares me.

[CM1995]

Hey Nedly-

I just went through the 'ol give a bid to demo a house thing, first time I have done it (well for someone else). I was at $7 per SF for a 1400SF house - crawl space, 4' CMU stem wall. This included permitting, bonding, utility disconnects and demo - hauling was extra through my can company. I figured 2 days with a 321 and a week of permitting and utility disconnects. I got a call from the owner saying that I was in the "middle of the pack of bids" - another guy was cheaper. Heck - I was skinny with my bid as it was and said "thanks for the opportunity".

Like Dirtman said, I would definetely seperate the "soft demo debris" from the "hard demo debris". Soft being the wood, insulation, drywall etc, and the hard being concrete, brick and dirt - if any. In my neck of the woods concrete, cured asphalt, bricks, rock and dirt is non-regulated - meaning it can be used as beneficial fill in places that do not require a landfill permit. Which if you think about it, what kind of environmental problems are you going to have from old concrete, bricks, rocks (duhh), and cured asphalt? But you never know when a gov't agency gets involved.:Pointhead Of course I am not familiar with the NY rules, but it may be worth checking out.

Good point on staying away from the sketchy dumps - if they are busted for recieving materials they are not permitted for, you could be liable for a portion of the environmental clean-up, if they can prove you dumped there.

I know that I have said this before but $130 bucks a ton YIKES!:eek: We pay $18 per ton at the WM pit for C&D material. Even at $18 per ton we try to seperate the heavy stuff. We can dump the unregulated materials for $35 per load at an inert fill dump.

And that is about all the help I can give. Good luck!:thumbsup

[nedly05]

CM1995,

Can you drop off the 321 you have for sale for a week???? Thanks for your reply, we will definitly seperate the soft/and hard. The gov't regulates everything so much up here that disposing is a real challenge. The dumps we haul C/D to puts it in trailers (we dump on a ramp and they shove it right in with a loader.They then haul it 2 hrs north to a plant, and I am not sure what they do with it there, I suspect they burn it??? Thus driving the price of contactors tipping through the roof.

[Dirt Dogg]

I demo'd a house a few years ago that was around 6500 sqft. The total ended up being close to $14 per sqft which included landfill charges. Here it costs $30 a ton to dump. If I remember it took 42 semi loads to take it all away.
The first loads will be the lightest because it's mostly wood and the last will be the heaviest because its full of plaster, drywall, and all the heavy stuff that was sorted out

[mikef87]

I would call a trucking company that has 100 yd trailers. Last wood building I did cost me $1600 a trailer for Boston, Mass. They hauled it to Pennsylvania to dump it for $65 a ton while up here it would have been $100. Like everyone else said I would munch that material up real good to get the air out of it. Munch it up as you take it down.

[KSSS]

That is going to be an expensive demo. We dump for free at the County Landfill here. It is easy to forget how good we have it. At 130 a ton for dump fees perhaps some out of the box thinking may be at least considered. You may contact the local Fire Department and see if they would like a building to train on. Many variables as to what kind of building they will use but maybe worth a try. Another would be to look into the cost of renting or hiring a grinder. You maybe able to actually sell the grindings for use in landscaping as ground cover. Even if you gave it away you would still be way ahead. You might also be able to rent or hire a crusher for the concrete. The aggregate can be resold.

Normally these things are not that cost effective but with such high dump fees you might want to look into other options rather than dumping. I did the math and a side dump neting 25 ton would cost $3250.00 in dump fees. That is unreal.

[Countryboy]

You may contact the local Fire Department and see if they would like a building to train on.

FWIW, around here we take anything we can get. There is no better training than a real house. With the regular flow of new guys, live fire training has become scarce.

It can also be tax deductable depending on your circumstances. Check with your local firehouses to see what their needs may be.

On Edit: Nedly, I typed this while forgetting that you're on the Fire Department ;). Something to think about either way. :)

[nedly05]

We used to burn any house that needed demo. I've been in the FD for 11 years now, and in the first five years I bet we took part in at least one a year. About 3 years ago a bunch of guys got hurt in NY state at live burns which changed things a lot. Our county frowns on it, and even if we get a house, the Department of Envirnonmental Conservation will not issue permits for aquired stuctures. Best we can do it practice forcbile entry, ventilation and search/rescue. If we get this job, I will check with the owner to see if we can drill there a couple nights before we smash it. It's in the same town I am, but in the sister district, so we get togther and play, it's a win win so to speak. Wish we could burn it and then clean up the remains. That would be even more win win.

[CM1995]

CM1995,

Can you drop off the 321 you have for sale for a week????

Mr Lowboy, paging Mr Lowboy - would you please pick up the dingy courtesy phone!:D

[fireman050]

We used to burn any house that needed demo. I've been in the FD for 11 years now, and in the first five years I bet we took part in at least one a year. About 3 years ago a bunch of guys got hurt in NY state at live burns which changed things a lot. Our county frowns on it, and even if we get a house, the Department of Envirnonmental Conservation will not issue permits for aquired stuctures. Best we can do it practice forcbile entry, ventilation and search/rescue. If we get this job, I will check with the owner to see if we can drill there a couple nights before we smash it. It's in the same town I am, but in the sister district, so we get togther and play, it's a win win so to speak. Wish we could burn it and then clean up the remains. That would be even more win win.


do like i do set it on fire and say the house caught fire while being demolished thats what i've done a few times

[mtb345]

:cool: hiring trucks can be more costly than cans not only do you pay road time but to have trucks sit there and wait to dump and you would not pack as much as a can. i strip as much scrap metal in between loads, never live load roll-offs cant pack as good two things happen you munch into sawdust packing the can and ahellavu easier to pick scrap metal

[nedly05]

do like i do set it on fire and say the house caught fire while being demolished thats what i've done a few times

Speaking of sketchy.....

[nedly05]

:cool: hiring trucks can be more costly than cans not only do you pay road time but to have trucks sit there and wait to dump and you would not pack as much as a can. i strip as much scrap metal in between loads, never live load roll-offs cant pack as good two things happen you munch into sawdust packing the can and ahellavu easier to pick scrap metal

Roll offs are always an option, there are several roll off outfits around.

[Nac]

where in NY are you? For a 6,000 SF house should take about 16 30YD containers about 8 ton each is a good avarage. for the concrete just figure WxLxH/27+50%/20 to figure how many 20YD containers you need. The job should only take 3-4 days tops with one excavtor and 2 laborers to clean up and sort scrap metal. Also I do not know how old the house is does it have sheet rock or plaster walls? Does it have galavanized plumbing or copper? Aluminium gutters windows siding This all add up to money you make back in scrap. Steel is going for 160/ton Alu .62/Lb Cop 2.40/Lb.

[KeppleServices]

What part of upstate are you in? Just curious on my part is all, as I used to live up there.

Here that house would go for about 24K complete. I can actually get paid for the concrete($1 a ton, woohoo), and I work real closely with a friend of mine who has a 50 yard grapple truck so loading is easy. I would guess it would be about 11-12 loads with the truck (for the wood debris only) and its about 80 yards, 128 ton, of concrete so you would be looking at about 7 20 yard cans worth for disposal.

But here is the real kicker, I can dump for 4.50 a yard at private C&D landfills or for 17.80 a ton at the county lanfill.:usa

[mikef87]

Speaking of sketchy.....

I second that

[CM1995]

do like i do set it on fire and say the house caught fire while being demolished thats what i've done a few times

Fireman - I like your style!:thumbsup It's always easier to ask forgiveness than permission.:D

(This is purely in jest - ahhh the good ol' days)

[fireman050]

Speaking of sketchy.....


what if we did not do it the drug dealers and crackheads would its better for us to do it than someone else that is not trained to do it they could either damage other property or or hurt or kill themselves or someone else

[nedly05]

what if we did not do it the drug dealers and crackheads would its better for us to do it than someone else that is not trained to do it they could either damage other property or or hurt or kill themselves or someone else

I understand what you're saying about the crackheads and drug dealers. However there are not as many of that brand of people here, so it's pretty likely that if the place caught on fire while we were tearing it down that we would be investigated pretty hard, and I don't think it would look good on an assistant fire chief to get charged with arson of a building that I was getting paid to demolish.

[kamerad47]

most Co's have a 4 or 5 ton limit on there 30yd containers. you pay extra per ton if you over.

[nedly05]

I called one of the far away dumps today, they are about 20 extra miles, but they are only $74.55/ ton as opposed to $130:eek: I think it's worth the travel.

[Wolf]

so did you win the bid? when do you find out? when do you get to start the demo?

[nedly05]

I guess we have the job if we want it. There is no hurry as long as it's gone by next summer, so if we take it we will probably wait until later in the fall.Thanks for all the help, you guys are the best!:notworthy

[Wolf]

Why not do it sooner rather than later. Don't let the job slip away. Anything can happen, so why not get out there are wreck it before someone else does?

[rino1494]

I am going to be doing a demo job within the next few weeks. It is a old diner that someone bought and wants it torn down to put up a new building. The 40yd cans are $600 for 4 tons and then $66 for every ton over the 4 ton limit. I think they said that 11 ton is about the max per can. The concrete and block I can take to our shop and dump it over the bank.

[Wolf]

I am going to be doing a demo job within the next few weeks. It is a old diner that someone bought and wants it torn down to put up a new building.


Take some pictures of that diner demo, Rino. Is it one of those old fashioned silver ones? Might be valuable enough to sell rather than demo it. How old do you think it is? Does it have any juke boxes at the table? Those are pretty valuable now.

[rabbit16]

Wow 130 a ton. My dad and I took the old flat roof off his shop to replace it with a pitched one and the total amount that the land fill charged us for the stuff was about 200 dollars and we had atleast 5 ton in the dumpster, but you also have to take into account that the guy we got the dumpster from was one of my dads old customers and he owns the transfer station that all of the stuff went to so we may have gotten a deal because of all the bulk business that he does with the land fill and recyclers.

[tuney443]

Demos are my favorite job.Job I just finished I got $1K from all the metals that I never put in the dumpsters.Under the slab were 2 mummified ground hogs.Love making toothpicks,but I had a tiff with my carting company regarding water.Seems the last 20 yd. dumpster got taken to the burn plant about 5 days after I loaded it.Well,it rained steady for about 2.5 days,they had the weight down on my bill for the overage--about 3 tons.I did some calculating on how much water came into that box--they took off 2 tons which is what I figured.

[mikef87]

Demos are my favorite job.Job I just finished I got $1K from all the metals that I never put in the dumpsters.Under the slab were 2 mummified ground hogs.Love making toothpicks,but I had a tiff with my carting company regarding water.Seems the last 20 yd. dumpster got taken to the burn plant about 5 days after I loaded it.Well,it rained steady for about 2.5 days,they had the weight down on my bill for the overage--about 3 tons.I did some calculating on how much water came into that box--they took off 2 tons which is what I figured.

That's a valuable reason of why you need to pay attention in math.