Demolition calculator
The calculator multiplies the length and width of your house by our price per square foot, then adds the extras you tick.
Our price list
Every job has one price, listed below as of October 2026. Sheds and detached garages sit in the calculator above as extras. We confirm the number at the site visit, once we have seen the access and the slab.
| Job | What it includes | Price |
|---|---|---|
| House demolition, CBS block | Machine demolition of the house, slab and footings, debris loaded and hauled, and the lot rough-graded. | $8 per sq ft of house |
| House demolition, wood frame | Machine demolition of the wood frame house, slab and footings, debris loaded and hauled, and the lot rough-graded. | $6 per sq ft of house |
| Pool fill-in (partial removal) | Drain, holes broken in the floor, top of the walls and deck broken out, clean fill placed in lifts and compacted, topsoil on top. | $5,500 per pool |
| Full pool removal | The whole shell, deck and equipment pad broken out and hauled, clean fill placed in lifts and compacted. Compaction tests and an engineer's report, if you will build on it, are priced at the visit. | $9,500 per pool |
| Concrete removal | Driveway, slab, patio or walkway up to 4 in thick broken out, hauled to recycling and the base left level. | $4 per sq ft |
| Interior gut demolition | Drywall, ceilings, flooring, cabinets and fixtures taken out down to the block and slab, with dust barriers and haul-off. | $4 per sq ft of floor |
| Kitchen demolition | Cabinets, countertops, backsplash, flooring and appliances out, utilities capped by the trades, debris hauled. | $1,500 per kitchen |
| Bathroom demolition | Tub or shower, tile, vanity, toilet and floor out down to the slab or substrate, debris hauled. | $1,200 per bathroom |
| Debris haul-off | Loading by hand or machine, the truck and the disposal or recycling fee for one load of mixed construction debris. | $600 per truckload |
| Mobile home demolition | Tear-down of a single-wide or double-wide manufactured home, frame and debris hauled, pad cleaned. | $4,500 per home |
| Asbestos survey before demolition | Survey and lab samples by a licensed asbestos consultant, scheduled by us, with the report the permit needs. | $900 per house |
Labor, equipment and haul-off included, in US dollars, October 2026. A house is priced per square foot of footprint (length × width of the building). Concrete and gut jobs are priced per square foot of slab or floor. City permit fees are added at cost. Asbestos abatement, when the survey calls for it, is done and priced by a licensed abatement contractor. Tight access or a second story is priced after the visit, before we start.
How we price a house
We price a house teardown by its footprint: the length of the ground floor times its width, taped outside the stucco. A ranch that measures 50 × 30 ft is 1,500 sq ft. Type that pair into the calculator and you have our number.
The second figure that matters is what the walls are made of. A CBS house, the concrete block and stucco box you see on most Miami streets, is $8 per sq ft of house. A wood frame house is $6 per sq ft of house.
Block costs more for plain reasons. The block walls carry rebar and grout in their cells, and a poured tie beam runs around the top of the walls. The excavator needs a hydraulic breaker for the tie beam and the slab on grade, and the rubble fills more dump trucks per square foot. A wood frame house comes apart with the thumb and grapple, and the trusses and studs go out light.
What the price includes and what is extra
Our house price covers four things:
- Knocking the house down with the excavator, roof to floor
- Breaking out the slab and digging up the footings
- Loading the C&D debris and hauling it off the lot
- A rough grade with the skid steer so the lot drains
A few items sit outside that number. The city's permit fee is added at the cost the building department charges. The asbestos survey is $900 per house, done by a licensed asbestos consultant we schedule. When the survey finds asbestos, a licensed abatement contractor takes it out before our machine starts, and that work is quoted on its own. A second story and a lot with hard access are priced at the visit. The asbestos survey guide explains when the survey is required and who signs off.
What moves the price
A second floor changes the job more than anything else. The excavator has to reach higher, the pile of debris grows with every room upstairs, and the neighbors need more protection from falling block.
Access comes next. A side yard too narrow for the excavator, FPL lines over the driveway or a big oak against the wall all slow the machine down. Trees can bring paperwork too. Some cities ask for a tree survey, and taking a tree out needs its own permit in most South Florida cities.
A thick slab with heavy rebar, or an old addition poured on top of the first slab, adds hours on the breaker. Asbestos adds the survey and possibly abatement, as covered above.
The rest of the lot is priced by the job. A pool behind the house is quoted on our pool removal page, and a driveway or patio at concrete removal for $4 per sq ft. Gutting a kitchen or a whole floor while the walls stay is interior demolition. Piles from a remodel go by the truckload through debris removal, and a manufactured home on a pad has its own rate on mobile home demolition. The full scope of a teardown is on the house demolition page.
What national cost guides say
National cost guides put a full house demolition between $4 and $17 per sq ft. Some go as high as $25 per sq ft when the house has asbestos or lead paint. For wood frame homes, the national figure sits around $5 to $10 per sq ft.
Most Miami houses are CBS on a slab, so they land in the heavier part of those ranges. Our per square foot price sits inside them.
Permit and asbestos fees
Two government fees are published. Miami-Dade County charges $225 for a demolition notification on buildings up to 5,000 sq ft. Broward County charges $100 to review the SRRA, its asbestos statement. Owner-occupied homes of four units or fewer skip that fee, but they still file the statement.
The building permit fee itself varies by city, and each city keeps its own checklist. We give you the amount when we file. The demolition permit guide for Miami-Dade and Broward walks through the papers.
For an exact figure on your lot, send photos through the free estimate form.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest way to demolish a house?
Bundle everything into one mobilization. Taking down the house, the shed and the pool deck in the same week means the excavator and the trucks come out once. Wood frame also comes down for less than block.
How much does demolition cost per square foot?
Our price is $8 per sq ft of house for CBS block and $6 per sq ft of house for wood frame, on the ground floor footprint. National guides run from $4 to $17 per sq ft.
Does a two-story house cost more to tear down?
Yes. The footprint price covers a one-story house, and the second floor is quoted at the visit after we check the height, the distance to the neighbors and how the upper floor was framed.
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