demolish a house

[llallen]

I don't know exactly where to post this, but wonder if anyone could tell me what to expect if I were to buy an old 2-story house next door with a partial basement, to tear down and have a bigger yard. The village I live in doesn't have many codes and regulations, but I still have to check and see about that. Any ideas on the cost? It is only about 840 square feet of house. Would there be any problems on just tearing it down piece by piece to save the money? I wouldn't be in any hurry, just don't know about the cleanup and asbestos removal, etc., and of course wouldn't want anyone to get hurt in the process. Thanks!

[LazyPup]

Just tearing it down bit by bit could be a problem. Most communities require a demolition permit before the work can commence, and the permit defines a specific time frame to complete the job.

Here in the Western Pa/ Eastern Ohio region we are usually granted 30 days from the date the work begins.

I am subcontracting for a large property manager in this region that has had 5 houses demolished in the last calendar year. In all five instances the company that performed the service brought in one man with a large Track-Hoe and a dump truck. The total time was about two days, including hauling off all debris and colapsing the basement walls, filling the basement and leveling the grade.

Obviously there would be variations in pricing depending upon whether they had to perform asbestos removal, supply additional fill dirt, the distance to the dump site, dump site costs etc, but this should give you a ball park idea of what to expect.

Average cost was $2500 per structure.

[Moonmaedyn]

Hey LP--was one of those places in Steubenville? We saw some guy taking down an old large (what looked like) apartment building with a backhoe. It only took him a couple hours. Not a bad way to make a bundle in a hurry.

[LazyPup]

MoonMaedyn,
The houses we took down were in Sharon,Pa and Brookfield,Oh which is about 45 mile north of Steubenville. I am quite familiar with the Stuebenville area though as I grew up about 30 mile north of there at Salem, Ohio.