Some Things to Avoid When Planning a House Demolition

If you're planning a house demolition for any reason, no doubt you want to work closely with the demolition contractor to understand all the steps involved; obviously you would disconnect the utilities and remove personal items before work begins. However, you may also want to avoid doing some things that you might think would be helpful or necessary but which might actually cause a problem for the demolition crew or for yourself as a homeowner. Note a few of those here and why they should be avoided.

Avoid starting the demolition yourself

You might actually pull up or otherwise remove items you know can be recycled or salvaged, but avoid removing anything that is holding up the house, such as interior walls and floorboards. This can cause safety hazards for you while you're working. 

You also don't want to remove anything that might make the home vulnerable to intruders, including exterior doors and windows. You may not be concerned about anyone stealing anything from a shell of a house, but you also don't want to be responsible for someone getting injured while in a home that is unsafe.

You might also think it's good to start tearing up exterior walls with a chainsaw or sledgehammer, but this too can mean creating an unsafe working area for you and anyone else in the home, so leave that work to the demolition crew rather than assuming you're helping them.

Don't be onsite when work begins

You may want to watch the home being demolished and may even think it would be fun to have the kids watch, but avoid thinking you can or should be around the work crew as work begins. They may even insist that you stay behind certain barriers that they put up for your own safety. Even though it's your property, you want to avoid trying to get too close or insisting that you watch from your own vantage point, as this can stop work altogether and be very unsafe for you.

Avoid putting off clearing out the house

If you do want to remove anything from the house including recyclable materials, certain handmade features, and the like, don't put this off. You might not be able to do this on your own and may need to find a contractor to help you remove these items. Waiting until demolition day is near can mean not finding that help and either needing to delay the demolition or seeing those items get demolished with your home.