DIY Guide How to Demolish an Old Garage

If you have a house or property that is over 80 years old, there is a good chance that there is an old garage on your property. Many of these garages were built before modern code enforcement and standards.

In addition, if garages are left un-maintained, they can deteriorate quickly and become a safety hazard. Many people wonder how to demolish their old garage themselves to save money.

How To Demolish An Old Garage

Preparing For Garage Demolition

Step 1: Get a Permit

Before embarking on your garage demolition journey, the first step is to stop by your town hall. You should speak with the zoning officer and inform him/her of your plans to tear down your old garage.

Many towns require permits for demolition of a garage. The reasoning for this is to ensure everything is done in a safe and responsible manner. The cost of acquiring a demolition permit is between $100-$200.

Step 2: Disconnect Utilities

Most garages only have electrical service, which is typically run from the main panel in the house. This can be disconnected yourself, but we recommend hiring a licensed electrician to disconnect the electricity for you.

Other more elaborate garages may have other utilities present as well. Whether they have their own electrical service, water meter, gas line, etc – all of these need to be disconnected.

Call your local utility companies and request for them to terminate the utilities. This process is typically free, and takes anywhere from 1-4 weeks to finish.

Step 3: Figure Out Disposal

One of the largest costs involved with demolishing & removing a garage is disposal of the debris. Many old garages are made with wood, brick, and asphalt shingles. The floor is either made out of concrete or dirt.

To dispose of most of the debris from the demolition, the most popular option is to rent a dumpster. Dumpster companies will typically charge you a base rate that includes delivery, pickup, and a tonnage cap. For demolition projects, you should factor going over the tonnage cap – so always ask for their overage rate.

Most garages will fit in a 40 yard dumpster. An alternative option is if you have a dump truck or dump trailer – you can haul the debris yourself! One disadvantage to this is that you will make more trips to the landfill.

For the concrete floor, the best way to dispose of concrete is to take it to a clean fill site or recycling facility.

Some old garages have materials that can be recycled for scrap value. These items include aluminum siding, roof flashing, wiring, and other metal components. While you won’t make a ton of money scrapping these items, you are keeping them out of the landfill and reducing your disposal costs.

Step 4: Rent Equipment

Everyone has their opinion on the best type of equipment to demolish an old garage with. Whether it be a skid steer, excavator, backhoe, etc – all of these pieces of equipment will get the job done.

At our company, we have all of these pieces of equipment to get the job done more efficiently. On most garage demolitions, we will use an excavator to demolish & load up the debris.

We will bring in our skid steer to load up old concrete & brick to be sent to a recycling center.

There are typically multiple equipment rental businesses in every town. One rental company we deal with is Sunbelt Rentals, as they have newer equipment and great customer service!

Regardless of the rental company you choose to go with, call around and ask for pricing and what size/brand machine they are renting to you. Don’t always go with the cheapest equipment rental company as breakdowns will cost you much more!

Demolishing The Garage

The best way to go about demolishing a garage is to have the dumpster placed next to the structure. This assists in loading as well as cleaning up afterwards.

If using an excavator, begin slowly dismantling the garage from the outside-in. Be sure to collapse walls and roof structures as you go, as they may become unstable as the demolition project progresses.

As you’re demolishing the garage, begin “crushing” the debris up with the machine as much as possible. This will help with maximizing the amount of demolition debris you can load into the dumpster.

Begin loading the dumpster up with the debris, and continue the demolition.

Once the structure is down, finish loading the dumpster up with the demolition debris. Afterwards, all you will have left is a small coating of debris on the ground, it is best to hand-rake it and load it manually. This helps keep dirt out of the dumpster which will save you money on disposal costs.

Concrete Removal

Once the garage is demolished and loaded up, you are almost done! The final step in removing a garage is to remove the concrete parking pad that was inside the garage.

You can use an excavator for this as well, although a skid steer would make the process much easier & more efficient.

Once all the concrete is dug up and in a pile, you can hire a dump truck to haul it away for you. Load the dump truck up with the old concrete – and your garage demolition project is done!

What Does Garage Removal Cost?

Although DIY garage demolition will save you money over hiring a contractor, it still costs a decent amount of money. Below is a breakdown of average costs to demolish a garage yourself in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area.

• $150 permit
• $125 electrician to disconnect electricity
• $850 40 yard dumpster rental + tonnage overage
• $1,025 2 day excavator rental + pickup and delivery
• $50 machine fuel
• $400 dump truck & concrete disposal

For the average garage, the total cost to demolish & remove an old garage is approximately $2,600 if you did it yourself. If any damage is done to neighboring properties, your property, etc, you will be responsible to pay for that as well.

Old Garage Demolition Professionals

If demolishing your old garage yourself sounds like too big of a hassle – you are not alone! We are a fully licensed & insured demolition company in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area and specialize in demolishing garages.

Garage demolition is a high-risk activity and without the proper experience and tools can turn dangerous and costly. When you hire a licensed & insured demolition contractor such as A+ Enterprises, you can sleep well knowing we are responsible for the whole project.

We handle the utility disconnects, acquiring demolition permits, demolition, cleanup, and disposal. Our company services a 30 mile radius of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area.

Call us today to see how fast & affordable your garage demolition project can be! 570-373-9996

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Request a FREE Garage Demolition Estimate

Call us today! 570-373-9996

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