Demo small house...

MLO

1000sq ft. ranch needs demoed down to existing subfloor. Bids for removal were 8-10K!, cannot afford. Roof is hand framed 2x4's, walls are ship-lap over 2x4's. There is no insulation any where in the home. It's me and a helper and a pick-up. Any advice or strategy for the process?

harleysilo

Go buy a saw zaw and several off the DEMO blades for wood and nails....

joasis

8 - 10 k? Waste disposal must be a chunk up there...so what do you plan to do with the stuff you obviously cannot recycle?

One word of caution about demolition on a frame structure....you start cutting through the framing, you need to be in the clear area....it can come down on you, so think before you cut.

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MLO

I'm thinking a rental dumpster would be the way to go...any idea how big?

AtlanticWBConst.

We did a 20'x20' structure attached to a house prior to an additon in November...took 1 day and one 30 yard dumpster.

So, your stucture might be at least four (30 yard) dumpster trips or more. If you plan on doing it quickly, you should arrange for drop off of at least 2 dumpsters and quick pick ups for them. You don't want to be handing the rubble twice. (fill a dumpster, stack up a pile, then have to move the pile a 2nd time into a new empty dumpster...)
Look into whether the dumpster company takes the roofing trash along with all the other demo trash. If not, you will have to separate it. Also, if you have the time, you could separate the copper/ aluminum from the demolition and bring it to a metal reclaimation place and get a little coinage back for it.

Demolition should obviously start at the top and work it's way down to the walls (roof structure first and then the walls) You may have to temporarily brace some areas before taking done other areas for safety.
Make sure that ALL UTILITIES are shut off by a licensed and properly qualified company, get the confirmation in writing. You will need a generator on site to power your demolition tools.
Those tools are mainly your two hands, gloves, hardhats, safety glasses, thick soled boots, saw-alls, demo blades, skill saws, trash barrels, wheel barrels, etc...

I'm sure that you probably already looked into your local town requirements for this demo.(Our area requires a permit from the local building dept. for Demos.) Your local building dept. can also help you with any questions you may have on this. You should defintily check with them BEFORE you start anything....

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- Build Well -

steel

Have you called your fire department? I have heard that they can use houses that are going to be torn down for training purposes. They will leave with little more than a smoldering pile of rubble.

I have never actually done this before, but rumor has it....

harleysilo

That's an aweasome idea. Or you could just torch the place yourself....

j/k of course.

MLO

I have looked into practice fire scenario. There is a sizable tax deduction for allowing this. Problem is that I am going to re-use the foundation and subfloor. Another issue is the smell. Apparently even after things have been hauled away and a new building is up, the odor from the fire lingers.

harleysilo

Well, worth a shoot anyways! Good to know it's true.....

steel

That's too bad. It seems like a pretty good set-up (minus the drawbacks).

It seems to me that the dumpster would be worth it. I cannot imagine how many trips it would take with a pickup to haul a house away. If you can get your hands on a flatbed trailer (car hauler) that would be a huge plus. It is surprising how much you can haul on those. I was told at the dump on time that if you get a chain and an old tire (with the rim still attached) they can just grab the chain with one of their lifts and it drags everything with it.

Other than that, I've got nothing. Good luck.