DEMOLITION PROCESS

“Don’t just rush in and demolish an old house,” says Robert Borg, General Manager, Hudson Homes. “Pre-planning is the most important factor — it’s make or break. Get this right and the rest flows: planning, approvals, demo and construction. So to start, you should pick an experienced demolition company and one that has all the required licences. Selecting the wrong demolition company may mean that the site isn’t cleared properly or safely, and may even have an adverse effect on neighbouring properties.

“The demo process can throw up certain challenges,” he continues. “Accessibility may be an issue if the site is on a main road or the block is small. The safe removal of asbestos may be required, but sometimes asbestos can’t be seen until after demo has begun. Sometimes there are items below the ground that need to be removed during demolition. Any good demolition company will remove these. If these are not removed, it will add additional costs at construction stage. In terms of timing, a good tip is to lodge a separate demolition approval and build approval so that you can start demolition earlier to allow for the unexpected.”

There are many factors to consider before making decisions about demolition, one of which is obtaining a demolition permit. It will vary by state, but generally in order to get official demolition approval, you will want to make sure that your site does not have any heritage boundaries or otherwise culturally significant reasons to prevent demolition. A fee will be charged for the permit and it will probably take several weeks to be approved. You will need to lodge forms and consult with a private certifier.