What if your home is a total loss?

With so-called historical flooding becoming an almost annual event in Houston, some homeowners are now facing a third consecutive year of repairing severely damaged houses. For the 85 percent of people who don’t have flood insurance, however, fixing the damage wrought by Hurricane Harvey will be a long and financially difficult road.

The repair costs for as little as 1 inch of floodwater often are close to 10 percent of a home’s value, and, at 3 feet, it can rival the entire cost.

So what do you do when your home is a total loss? Turns out it may be far cheaper and quicker to demolish and build new.

Comparatively, when contractors are used, the total time from permit application to completion for singlefamily homes in Texas averages about seven months, according to the Census Bureau’s 2014 Survey of Construction.

Before you build your new home there are a few necessary steps to take, namely acquiring the litany of permits required for demolition of the damaged house.

According to the Houston Department of Public Works, your first step for demolition is to purchase a plumbing permit and pay a disconnection fee so that a plumber can inspect and disconnect the sewer connection. Homeowners also have to coordinate with utility providers to cap off gas and electricity.

The last step before you can apply for the demolition permit is to have your home inspected and cleaned of asbestos. During this step, you can prepare for demolition by taking stock of what materials — think sinks and countertops — that you’d like to salvage.

After you’ve done that and paid the required fees, you’ll be able to apply for your permit. There are two main demolition options: mechanical and deconstruction.

Mechanical is the quicker and cheaper option. Using a bulldozer takes a handful of days and costs anywhere from $4,000 to $14,000. Deconstruction involves the hands-on stripping, salvaging and demolishing of the building, which generally is more expensive due to labor costs. Most demolitions involve a combination of the two.

Many contractors who do demolition also offer hauling services, but if yours doesn’t, you’ll have to arrange for the transport and disposal of the rubble.

Once the rubble is gone, a decision must be made on whether to rebuild on the foundation of your old home, craft a new one or leave that issue for the next property owner.