Pool Removal and Filling
Fibreglass and concrete pools removed, the void backfilled in layers and compacted ready for whatever comes next.
Learn more →What a Perth knockdown actually involves
Most house demolitions in Perth are the first step in a knockdown rebuild: the location is right, the house is not, and rebuilding on the block beats buying somewhere else once stamp duty and rising land prices are counted. The demolition itself is a small part of that timeline. The approvals are the large part.
The work covers single-storey brick-and-tile, weatherboard and fibro cottages, double-storey homes, and multi-unit blocks being cleared for infill development. Footings, slabs, driveways, paths, retaining walls, pools and sheds are all priced individually, because a block rarely holds just the house.
The sequence, and where it stalls
- Site inspection and written scope. What goes, what stays, where a truck can reach, and where the services enter the property.
- Asbestos identification. Pre-1990 construction is assumed to contain asbestos until tested. Licensed removal happens before anything else.
- Service abolishment. Western Power to abolish the electricity supply, Water Corporation to remove the meter and cap the sewer connection, ATCO to remove any gas meter.
- Demolition permit. Lodged with the council with the disconnection evidence attached, plus the verge bond.
- Demolition and cart-away. Fencing, dust suppression, structure down, material sorted and removed.
- Site level and handover. Ground graded, rubble out, ready for a surveyor.
Step three is the bottleneck, every time. Western Power abolishment and Water Corporation disconnection are queued utility processes that cannot be accelerated from site, and most councils will not issue the demolition permit without them. Lodging both the week the quote is signed, rather than the week before the machines are wanted, is the difference between a six-week project and a twelve-week one.
What the machines meet under a Perth house
On the Swan Coastal Plain the footings are generally shallow strip footings in sand, which come out cleanly and leave a stable base. The complications are local. In the coastal suburbs — Fremantle, Scarborough, Cottesloe and along the Spearwood dune line — Tamala limestone sits close to the surface, and older houses often have limestone footings, limestone boundary walls and limestone retaining that is doing structural work. Breaking that out is slower and generates heavy, dense waste.
Towards the Darling Scarp, around Armadale and the Midland foothills, clay and laterite replace the sand, which changes the machine, the truck loads and how the site behaves after winter rain.
Salvage, sorting and disposal
Before demolition, anything worth pulling is pulled — roof tiles, jarrah flooring, bricks, fittings, hot water units and scrap metal. What remains is separated on site where practical: clean brick and concrete to a recycler for crushing into road base, metal to scrap, and mixed timber, plasterboard and general waste to a licensed landfill. Asbestos, where present, never enters those streams and goes under its own consignment paperwork to a site licensed to receive it.
That sorting is not just environmental theatre. Recycled brick and concrete is cheaper to dispose of than mixed waste, and disposal is one of the largest single lines in a demolition quote.
Related work on the same block
Very few knockdowns are just the house. A pool on the block is priced as its own job, as is concrete removal for a long driveway or a workshop slab, and garage and shed demolition where there is a second structure. Once the structures are gone, site clearing deals with the vegetation, fencing and rubble that a builder will otherwise charge you to move.
Costs for each of these, and the factors that move them, are set out in the Perth demolition cost guide. If the house is likely to contain asbestos, read the asbestos demolition page before you budget.
Call (08) 9516 0951 with the address and the rough age of the house and we will arrange a site visit.
More services
Explore our other services
Pool Demolition
Shell demolition for in-ground and above-ground pools, including solid concrete structures and surrounding decking.
Learn more →Strip-Out and Soft Demolition
Internal demolition for offices, shops and homes — walls, ceilings, floors and fit-out stripped back to structure.
Learn more →Kitchen Demolition
Cabinetry, benchtops, splashbacks and floor finishes out, services capped, floor ready for the new install.
Learn more →Bathroom Demolition
Vanity, bath, toilet, wall tiles and screed removed cleanly so waterproofing can start on a sound substrate.
Learn more →Asbestos-Affected Demolition
Pre-1990 Perth homes need an asbestos check first. We arrange licensed removal before demolition starts.
Learn more →Garage and Shed Demolition
Colorbond sheds, limestone and brick garages, carports and patios removed, slab included if you want it gone.
Learn more →Site Clearing
Vegetation, rubble, old slabs and fencing cleared off a block so the builder can set out and start pegging.
Learn more →Concrete Removal
Driveways, paths, patios and slabs broken out and carted to a recycler rather than straight to landfill.
Learn more →Rubbish Removal
Household, commercial and construction waste collection — you pay for the volume you actually put on the truck.
Learn more →Mulch Delivery
Bulk mulch delivered across Perth, useful once a cleared or backfilled site needs covering before landscaping.
Learn more →Civil Contracting
Bulk earthworks, site preparation and plant hire for larger residential and commercial projects.
Learn more →
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
How much does a house demolition cost in Perth?
Between $25,000 and $35,000 is the usual range for a standard detached Perth house, with the whole process taking up to twelve weeks. Asbestos removal, a second storey, poor truck access, retaining walls, a swimming pool or a large amount of concrete on the block all add to it. Verge bonds and permit fees are separate council charges.
Do I have to move out before demolition?
Yes, and usually well before. The property must be vacant, the power and water abolished at the street, and anything you want kept removed from the house and the yard. Fixtures you intend to salvage, from the wood heater to the roses, need to be out before the fencing goes up, because nothing survives once the machine starts.
What is the difference between full and partial house demolition?
A full demolition takes the entire structure, footings and slab, leaving a clear block. A partial demolition removes a defined section — a rear extension, a damaged wing, an upper floor — while the rest of the house stays standing and weatherproof. Partial work costs more per square metre because it is careful, hand-fed demolition around structure that has to survive.
Who applies for the demolition permit?
We lodge it with your local government as part of the job. The application needs the property details, the contractor's details and evidence that gas, electricity and water have been disconnected or abolished. Most Perth councils also want a bond held against damage to the verge, kerb, footpath and crossover, refunded after an inspection.
Will demolition damage my neighbour's fence or wall?
Boundary structures are the most common source of disputes, so they get identified in the quote rather than discovered on the day. Shared limestone or brick boundary walls, retaining walls holding a neighbour's soil, and dividing fences in poor condition all need a decision before work starts — propped, retained, or removed and replaced by agreement.
Free, no-obligation