HOUSE DEMOLITION, DOWN TO THE DIRT. AUSTIN & CENTRAL TEXAS.
House demolition in Austin and Central Texas runs $9,000–$25,000 per house, about $5–12 per sq ft. A single-story teardown takes one to three days on site once permits and utility disconnects are done. Hauling, sorting and recycling tickets are included. Slab, foundation, pool and outbuildings are quoted as their own lines.
Full residential teardowns for homeowners rebuilding, families clearing an inherited house, and infill developers. Part of the Clear Ground demolition lineup: every load ticketed, and a graded lot when we leave.
Book a Site Walk
Free site walk, no obligation. We answer the same business day. Written quote within 48 hours of the site walk.
WHAT HOUSE DEMOLITION
ACTUALLY INCLUDES.
House demolition is the complete removal of a residential structure (roof, walls, framing, chimney, porches, attached garage) and the hauling, sorting and recycling of everything that comes off the lot. Done right, it ends with a lot your builder can start on: slab dealt with, utilities capped and marked, trees protected, grade rough-set.
Done wrong, it ends with a pile in the back corner, a slab nobody quoted, a broken sewer lateral, and a builder who bills you to clean up after the demo crew. If you are pricing home demolition contractors near Austin, price against that second version. We walk the lot first, use the right tool for each problem, and hand you the load tickets when we leave.
and Rebuilding on the Lot
You love the lot, the street, the trees, not the 1,600 square feet of 1970s floor plan sitting on it. The teardown is the first line item on the new build. Your builder needs a clean, level lot with the slab question already answered. That is what we hand over, with the load tickets.
or Worn-Out Home
The house has more deferred maintenance than value, and the land is worth more without it. Whether you are selling the lot, building for family, or stopping the tax-and-insurance bleed on a vacant structure, we walk you through utility disconnects, permit and reviews plainly, so there are no surprises in the estate accounting. Nothing gets buried on site, and you get the recycling tickets.
for New Construction
Tight urban lot, neighbors ten feet away, a schedule with a lender attached. You need a fixed price and a lot that passes your GC's first look. We bundle the teardown with foundation removal and site prep on one mobilization. See the infill developer journey.
THE HOUSE IS THE EASY PART. THE SLAB IS THE QUOTE THAT GETS SKIPPED.
Most house demolition quotes stop at the top of the concrete. The structure comes down, the debris leaves, and you are left with a slab-on-grade foundation (or a field of pier-and-beam footings) that somebody still has to remove before anything new can be built. It is the most common gap between "the demo price" and "the price of a buildable lot," so we put it on the proposal as its own line with its own number.
We confirm the foundation type at the site walk before we quote. Slab removal is priced per square foot under our concrete & slab removal service; pier-and-beam extraction and grade beams fall under foundation removal. If your builder wants the slab left in place, we leave it swept with the stubs cut flush.
ONE MOBILIZATION FROM OLD HOUSE TO BUILDER-READY PAD.
A teardown is the first step of a sequence, not the whole job. The house comes down, the slab and foundation come out, the pad is graded to the builder's plan, and if the lot has one, the old pool is removed and backfilled in the same window. One crew runs the sequence, so you are not scheduling three contractors and hoping their calendars line up. If the lot is overgrown, land clearing goes in front of the teardown.
Structure, porches, chimney, attached garage, and any detached outbuildings removed. Debris sorted and hauled. This page.
→Concrete & slab broken and hauled to C&D recycling; piers and grade beams extracted. Driveways and patios go here too.
→An old pool is broken, backfilled, and compacted; a limestone shelf under the new footprint is handled by rock & boulder demolition.
→Site prep and pad prep to the builder's grading plan. Your builder mobilizes onto a pad ready to build on.
UTILITIES, ASBESTOS, TREES, NEIGHBORS. THE FOUR THINGS THAT SET THE TIMELINE.
The excavator is rarely the long pole on a house demolition. The weeks in front of it are. Requirements differ between Austin, the counties and the smaller cities, so we tell you what applies to your address at the site walk. We check whether your address needs a demolition permit and say so in the quote; where one applies we pull it or coordinate with whoever holds it.
Electric, gas, water, sewer, and telecom have to be disconnected at the source before demolition, and the utility providers control that calendar. Inside Austin the City runs a utility release step (City of Austin utility release: 512-494-9400). A licensed plumber or electrician caps the stubs; we flag and photograph them at the property line so they are easy to find on day one.
Austin's asbestos notice exempts single-family homes and buildings with 4 or fewer units. The federal NESHAP rule still applies on other structures and on projects with more than one structure. Confirm with the City of Austin which applies to yours. If a survey finds asbestos, abatement is finished before we start. We do not do abatement; we can point you to an abatement contractor and sequence around their clearance.
In Austin, a protected tree is 19 inches or more in trunk diameter, any species, and a heritage tree is 24 inches or more of a listed species, measured at 4.5 feet. The critical root zone is about one foot of radius per inch of trunk. Rules differ by city, so we confirm before the plan is written, then lay out the machine path, debris staging and haul route to keep tracks and loads out of those zones. Fencing goes up before iron arrives.
Neighbors ten feet away, a shared fence, a driveway that has to survive. A compact-radius excavator keeps the counterweight inside your lot line; mats protect the drive and sidewalk; water keeps the dust down; debris stays on your side of the fence. We tell the neighbors what days the noise happens, and we photograph fences and structures next door before we start.
WHAT AUSTIN CAN ASK FORBEFORE THE FIRST MACHINE MOVES.
We are not the permitting authority, so treat this as a checklist of what to ask the City. We check whether your address needs a demolition permit and say so in the quote; where one applies we pull it or coordinate with whoever holds it.
- Demolition permit. Most house demolitions inside the City of Austin need one. Counties and smaller cities each run their own process.
- Historic Preservation Office review. A demolition permit application for a structure 45 years old or older goes to the City's Historic Preservation Office for review. Older houses should budget lead time for it.
- Utility release and disconnects. Utilities must be disconnected before demolition. City of Austin utility release: 512-494-9400.
- Neighbor notice. Ask the City whether your permit carries a neighbor-notice step. Either way, we tell your neighbors which days are loud.
- The 50% wall rule. The City may count removing more than half of the exterior walls as a demolition for permit purposes, even when part of the house stays. Confirm with the City before you plan a partial teardown or a remodel-to-rebuild.
- Asbestos. Single-family homes and buildings with 4 or fewer units are exempt from Austin's asbestos notice. NESHAP still applies on other structures and multi-structure projects. Confirm with the City of Austin.
Last reviewed: September 2026
HOUSE DEMOLITION COST IN AUSTIN.
FIXED AFTER THE SITE WALK.
The honest answer to "how much does it cost to demolish a house" is a range until someone walks the house. A full residential teardown in Central Texas runs $9,000–$25,000 per house, with the slab quoted separately so you can see it. The site walk confirms footprint, materials and foundation type, and the proposal you get back is a fixed price for the scope written on it.
| Service | Unit | Range | Typical timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full house teardown to the top of the slab | per house | $9,000–$25,000 | 1–3 days on site (single story) |
| Slab removal | per sq ft | $4–$8 | 1–3 days |
| Foundation removal (piers, grade beams) | per structure | $5,000–$7,500, more with rock | Set at the site walk |
| Detached garage, shed, carport | per structure | $1,000–$5,000 | Same mobilization as the house |
| Large or pole barn | per structure | $2,500–$8,000 | Set at the site walk |
| Old pool, full removal (pool demolition) | per pool | $30,000–$59,000 | Set at the site walk |
| Extra haul-off (contents, junk) | per job | $1,000–$3,500 | Hauling the demolition debris is included in the house price |
| Teardown to pad (house + slab/foundation + site prep) | combined scope | Quoted as one scope after the site walk | One mobilization |
| Optional drone topo and volume report | per scan | $500–$1,500 | Add-on only, never required |
Prices reviewed: September 2026. Ranges for Austin and Central Texas; your site walk sets the final number.
Actual quotes are based on square footage, number of stories, construction materials, foundation type, site access, tree protection zones, and haul distance, all confirmed at your site walk. Rock under the slab, a pool on the lot, or a septic system are priced as their own lines, not hidden in a contingency. Every proposal carries a fixed price and a timeline before any work begins. Insured: $2M per occurrence / $5M aggregate general liability.
COST TO DEMOLISH A HOUSE PER SQUARE FOOT, AND WHY IT MOVES.
Per-square-foot is a useful way to compare quotes and a bad way to write one. Our house range works out to about $5–12 per sq ft, but where a given house lands depends on things a square-footage number cannot see: how many stories, what the walls are made of, whether the slab is coming out, how far the trucks drive, and whether a machine can reach the back of the house.
Two things to know before you do the math. National "average cost to demolish a house" numbers usually exclude the slab, the disconnects and the permit; ours puts the slab on its own line so you can add it or not. And there is a floor. Mobilization and the first haul loads cost about the same for a 900 sf cottage as for a 2,400 sf ranch, which is why small houses land at the top of the per-foot range and the total rarely drops below $9,000. Run your own numbers in the demolition calculator or read the demolition cost guide.
ACTUALLY RUNS, DAY BY DAY.
A site walk confirms the structure type, foundation, utilities, trees and access. From that we build the demolition plan: machine path, tree protection, debris staging, haul route and the slab decision. Written quote within 48 hours of the site walk, with the teardown, slab, outbuildings and pad each on their own line. While you handle disconnects and any reviews, we hold your place on the schedule.
An excavator with a hydraulic thumb takes the house apart from the roof down, not a bulldozer shoving it into a pile. Working top-down keeps the debris inside the lot, keeps walls from dropping toward the neighbors, and lets us sort as we go: clean brick and block, lumber, metal, and mixed C&D each to their own pile or container. Masonry chimneys, thick grade beams and any rock get the hydraulic hammer. Water keeps the dust down. A single-story house is typically one to three days on the machine.
Every truck that leaves gets a ticket, and the tickets go in your file: C&D recycling documented, landfill loads documented, nothing buried on site. If the slab is coming out, this is where it happens: broken, rebar separated, concrete hauled to C&D recycling, and the subgrade left ready for the builder's target grade.
When the last load is gone, the lot is rough-graded (or pad-graded to your builder's plan if you bundled site prep), the utility stubs are flagged and photographed, and tree fencing is still standing. You receive the load tickets and recycling documentation and photos of every capped stub. Send the file to your builder before they schedule a crew.
Controlled top-down dismantling and material sorting, with a bucket for loading and grading. Compact enough to work a 50×100 infill lot between two neighbors.
Brick and stone chimneys, block walls, the slab and grade beams if they are coming out, and the limestone shelf that shows up under a surprising number of Austin houses. Right tool for the problem, no overkill.
Dozers, larger excavators and compaction equipment are rented locally when a job needs them.
A HOUSE IS FOUR MATERIALS.
EACH ONE LEAVES A PAPER TRAIL.
A demolished house does not disappear into one truck. We sort it on site as it comes down: clean brick, block, and concrete to C&D recycling; lumber separated from mixed debris; metal staged for scrap; the rest to a permitted landfill with a ticket. Every load is documented and the tickets come with your file. Nothing is buried on the lot. That "free fill" is the thing your builder's excavator finds a year from now.
You Are Keeping the Lot.
Everything Else Goes.
You have a builder, a set of plans, and a house in the way. You need a fixed price, a date we can hold, the slab question answered, the trees protected, and a lot your builder can start on without a cleanup line on their first invoice. The tickets go in your file, and the timeline is set by the disconnects and the permit. We tell you that up front.
Book a Site WalkA Tired House
on Land Worth Keeping.
Someone has to make the call on the house that nobody wants to live in and nobody wants to pay for. We explain the sequence plainly (disconnects, permit and reviews, teardown, slab) with a number on each step, and every ticket goes in a file that holds up in an estate or a lot sale. No pressure, and an honest answer if the house is worth more standing.
Read the Demolition GuideThe Lot Is Not Buildable
Until the House Is Gone.
Teardown-to-pad on one mobilization: house, slab, foundation, any pool, and pad prep to the grading plan, at a fixed price for the scope written. A compact-radius excavator for the 50×100 lots, and the tree zones planned before the machine arrives.
See the Infill Developer JourneyA full house teardown runs $9,000–$25,000 per house (about $5–12 per sq ft). That covers the structure to the top of the slab, hauling, sorting and recycling tickets. Slab, foundation, pool and outbuildings are separate lines, and the site walk sets the final number.
No. Slab removal is $4–$8 per sq ft, and pier-and-beam footings or grade beams fall under foundation removal at $5,000–$7,500 per structure (more with rock). If the slab stays, we cut the stubs flush and sweep it.
Most house demolitions in the City of Austin need a demolition permit, and a structure 45 years or older goes to Historic Preservation Office review. We check whether your address needs a demolition permit and say so in the quote; where one applies we pull it or coordinate with whoever holds it. Confirm the details with the City.
Austin's asbestos notice exempts single-family homes and buildings with 4 or fewer units. The federal NESHAP rule still applies to other structures and to multi-structure projects, so confirm with the City of Austin. If a survey finds asbestos, abatement happens before we start, and we do not do abatement.
A single-story house is usually one to three days on site, plus one to three days if the slab comes out. The wait in front of that is utility disconnects, permit and reviews, and it is measured in weeks. Most jobs start 1–3 weeks after approval.
Full pool removal with engineered fill in tested lifts is $30,000–$59,000 per pool. It is on the pool demolition page and can run in the same window as the house.
Yes. We take the house down from the top with a compact-radius excavator, use mats to protect the driveway, keep water on the dust and stage debris inside your lot line. We tell the neighbors which days are loud.
Every demolition service Clear Ground runs and the pricing in one place.
View Hub →The slab, driveway, patio, and sidewalks, broken, hauled and recycled. $4–$8 per sq ft.
View Service →Pier-and-beam footings, grade beams, and slab-on-grade extracted; voids backfilled and compacted. $5,000–$7,500 per structure.
View Service →An old inground pool on the teardown lot is broken, backfilled in compacted lifts, and tested. $30,000–$59,000 per pool.
View Service →Limestone shelf under the new footprint? An excavator with a hydraulic hammer breaks it out so the pad and foundation go in where the plans say.
View Service →Detached garages, sheds, carports, and barns, $1,000 to $8,000 per structure, cheaper bundled with the house.
View Service →Single- and double-wide dismantling and removal, piers pulled, utilities capped, pad graded for what comes next.
View Service →Light commercial structures for GCs and owners.
View Service →From cleared lot to a graded building pad your builder can pour on. Bundle it with the teardown.
View Service →Every service range on one page.
View Pricing →Run your own numbers for a house, slab and outbuildings.
Open Calculator →HOUSE TO TEAR DOWN?
WE WALK IT BEFORE WE QUOTE IT.
Book a site walk and get a fixed-price house demolition proposal: teardown, slab, outbuildings, and pad each on their own line. Written quote within 48 hours of the site walk. Most jobs start 1–3 weeks after approval.
Book a Site WalkAustin & Central Texas · Insured: $2M per occurrence / $5M aggregate general liability · (512) 880-8888