Light demolition in Vancouver, WA and Portland, OR

What we usually take down

Most teardown calls in Vancouver, WA and Portland, OR are one of four things. A deck that has gone soft at the ledger and has to come off before the new one goes on. A fence line the wind finished, posts and all. A garden shed that leaks, still full of what was in it. A floor that has to come up before the installer arrives: carpet and pad, laminate, a tiled bathroom.

None of it holds a roof up, and that is the line. A carport tied into the house, a wall, a porch roof: those need a licensed demolition contractor, and we say so on the phone rather than in the driveway.

What it costs

Teardown is priced with the debris it makes, on the same truck ladder as every job. A garden shed or a small deck usually comes to a half truck at $369 online. A large deck, a long fence line or a whole floor runs to a full 16 cubic yard truck at $739. Decking, fence boards, framing and flooring count as construction debris, $50 per quarter truck on top of the truck price. Concrete footings and slabs are quoted by weight, not by the truck.

We name the tier on site before the first board comes off, and it holds unless the job grows. The price list has every line.

How the visit goes

We bring the bars, the saws, a sledge and the truck, and we work from the top down: railings, then decking, then joists, then posts. Fence panels come off the posts whole where they can, and a post comes out with its footing when the footing moves.

You clear the deck and empty the shed, or tell us to haul the contents too and we price them as part of the load. Keep pets and kids inside while the saws run. You do not need to be home once we have started, and we send photos of the cleared spot with the invoice.

Post holes are backfilled with the soil that came out. We rake, sweep the slab or the patio, and pull nails from anything that stays.

Where it goes

Sound lumber and intact fence panels go to reuse when somebody will take them. Metal railings, brackets and posts go to scrap. The rest goes to the transfer station, Central Transfer and Recycling or the Washougal Transfer Station on the Washington side and Metro Central or Metro South in Oregon, with the tipping fee already inside your price. Treated wood and painted flooring are landfill, and we do not pretend otherwise.

Teardown, debris haul-away and yard waste are three jobs

This page is for structures still standing. If the deck is already in a pile, that is construction debris removal: the truck price plus the debris surcharge, without the labor of taking it apart. If it is brush, limbs and a hedge that came out, that is yard waste and storm debris removal, and a clean green load goes to the compost yard instead of the station. A hot tub sitting on the deck is hot tub removal, cut down on site, and we can take the deck in the same visit.

Before you book

Can you take down a pergola, an arbor or a carport? Freestanding, yes. Anything tied into the house roof or framing is structural and needs a licensed contractor.

Will you pull up tile? Yes. Tile and thinset come up with a chipping hammer and go by weight, so we quote that part from a photo before the visit.

Does the shed have to be empty? No. Tell us what is inside and we price the contents with the load, or clear it yourself first and the job is only the structure.