How long does a house demolition take in Miami?

The calendar in four stages

Four stages set the calendar on a teardown: paperwork, utility shutoffs, machine days on site and the cleanup that ends with the final inspection. Only the third one is fast.

Once the permit is in hand, the work on the lot itself often takes days to a couple of weeks, depending on the size of the house.

Paperwork takes the longest

Paperwork eats more of the calendar than the excavator ever does. Three clocks run before we can start.

The asbestos notice

Under the federal NESHAP rule, a notice of demolition goes to the county at least 10 business days before work starts. That is about two calendar weeks. A detached house with 4 units or fewer is exempt from the federal rule, but Broward still asks for its SRRA on every demolition permit, and the county reviews it in up to a week for those homes. Who does the survey and what happens when it finds something is covered in our guide to the asbestos survey before a teardown.

The city review

The City of Miami takes up to 14 business days for the first review of a demolition permit. Each correction it asks for starts another round. Every city keeps its own checklist, and a missing letter or an old survey is the usual reason a file comes back. The list of papers is on our Miami-Dade and Broward permit guide.

Historic review, when the house is on the list

In Coral Gables, when a house could qualify as a landmark, the case goes to the Historic Preservation Board, with a hearing within 90 days that can be extended. Miami Beach sends houses in local historic districts to its own board. We can't shorten either clock.

Utility shutoffs run alongside the permit

Utility shutoffs run on each utility's calendar, not ours, so we start them while the city reviews the file. A missing letter can hold a finished file for days. Who cuts each line and which letter the city wants is in our guide to shutting off utilities before demolition.

Machine days on the lot

A one-story house comes down in 1 to 3 days of machine work. The first morning goes to the construction fence with screen and the water truck for dust control. Then the roof tear-off, the walls with an excavator and thumb, and the slab and footings with a hydraulic breaker.

Wood frame goes faster than CBS. A second story adds days, and Fort Lauderdale asks for a daily schedule of work and equipment on houses taller than one floor. A pool, a long driveway or a tight side yard also add machine time.

Cleanup, rough grade and the final inspection

Cleanup starts while the machine is still working. We sort concrete and metal into separate piles, load the trucks and haul the debris off the lot. Then the skid steer rough grades the lot.

In unincorporated Miami-Dade, inspections are requested by 4 p.m. one business day ahead. Fort Lauderdale wants the ground covered with sod or another cover, with no bare soil left, so that step goes in before the final. When the inspector signs off, the permit closes.

What slows a demolition down

Most delays we see have nothing to do with the machine.

• A property survey older than 6 months, which the City of Miami will not take.
• Asbestos found in the survey, because a licensed abatement contractor has to remove it before we start.
• A utility letter that has not arrived.
• Correction rounds in the city review.
• Trees that need protection barricades or a separate removal permit.

Why we give you a calendar, not a promise

Nobody can promise a permit date in Miami-Dade or Broward, and we don't. After the walk-through you get a working calendar, updated when the city answers. Each step is laid out on how we work, and the job itself on our house demolition page.

Frequently asked questions