We are often asked "What does it cost to tear down a house?" The first answer is, it depends. The second answer is, "probably not as much as you think." It depends because every job is unique depending on the size of house being demolished, the material it is constructed of (wood vs.brick, etc.), whether there are hazardous materials present, etc.
However, all of these factors are easily identified and priced. In the grand scheme of choosing to tear down and build new, demolition costs are just a small fraction of the overall cost, usually just 2% or so. We took a look back at our last few demolitions to come up with the following cost ranges. Its important to remember that the cost of the demolition is not just the demolition contractor's quote, you will incur cost preparing the home demolition (utility disconnects, etc.) as well as post demolition costs to keep the site safe and secure.
Typical demolition costs
Gas disconnect $0 to $1,000
Water & sewer disconnect $500 to $1,000
Asbestos inspection $0 to $500
Pest control inspection $0 to $250
Demolition permit $100
Asbestos siding removal $2,000 to $4,000
Demolition $6,000 to $10,000
Construction entrance $500
Post demo fill $0 to $1,500
Silt & Safety fencing $500
Not every job incurs all the costs mentioned above. We demolished 8 houses over the past year. The average cost for demolition only cost was about $8,000 and the average total cost with all of the above items was approximately $11,000. We removed asbestos shingles on 4 houses with an average cost of $3,000.