House Demolition Question

[Beltzington]

Has anyone had a house removed from their property I am interested in lessons learned.

Our family estate includes land and an abandoned house that is no longer insurable or inhabitable. None of the family members have any desire to live in the house and even if they did repairs would greatly exceed the value of the property. After loosing the insurance I am concerned of the liability issues incurred should someone break in and start a fire or hurt themselves. Simply selling the property would seem the logical answer but under full disclosure laws selling a house "as is" doesn't always cover the seller. I also believe the condition of the house will reduce the overall value of the land.

I'm sure the county would require a permit but would appreciate hearing from someone who has actually gone through the process.

fyi -
The estate was created by a lawyer who neglected to have the deed changed which has limited our ability to manage this property without further legal costs. So I do not believe "get a lawyer" is a turn-key solution.

 

[tcreeley]

Sometimes you contact a local fire department and ask them if they need a house to practice on. They might take you up on it - and burn it for you. Then you have an excavator dig it into the ground and cover it with fill. - But then I live in the country with few zoning ordinances!

 

[prichard]

Sometimes you contact a local fire department and ask them if they need a house to practice on. They might take you up on it - and burn it for you. Then you have an excavator dig it into the ground and cover it with fill. - But then I live in the country with few zoning ordinances!

I've heard multiple times fire departments no longer do this. Concerns about environmental issues and burning materials. Some building materials are quite hazardous when burned and I guess they figure there's enough risk with real fires. There also concerns of pollution in the air and water.

Following since I'll have to demo our current mobile home when new house is finished.

 

[teg]

So it will depend on where it is, how close to other structures it is. My neighbor in the mountains, paid (donated) $600 to the local VFD and they burned down 2 or 3 structures. And the VFD left the tires and bedding material in the house, doesn't hurt to ask them.

In my city, I drive to work, 4 miles and there are 5 house being crushed this week. Permits out the wazoo... don't know the recent price but back in 2008, it was $3000 - $3500 for about 1100 sq ft house. The two that are being crushed a couple houses down from us were bought for $420,000 and the bigger one was $480,000.

The house we own will also be a "tear down" but hoping to get $500,000 in a few years.

I would wait and get the house out of the court system. If it has to sell before it's settled, I don't think the house would reduce the price that much. At least not around here... it's all too common to remove a house.

 

[DrRod]

My daughters house was irreparably damaged by a tornado -- in Silver Spring, MD no less. The one lesson to share is: start early. It was amazing how many inspectors had to visit before the permit was issued. They had to check for asbestos, lead paint, rodents, drainage, gas lines, et al. Once started, it took two hours to bring it al down and a day to clean it up.

 

[CobyRupert]

"lightning" don't need no permits.

 

[N2DFire]

I've heard multiple times fire departments no longer do this. Concerns about environmental issues and burning materials. Some building materials are quite hazardous when burned and I guess they figure there's enough risk with real fires. There also concerns of pollution in the air and water.

Following since I'll have to demo our current mobile home when new house is finished.

So it will depend on where it is, how close to other structures it is. My neighbor in the mountains, paid (donated) $600 to the local VFD and they burned down 2 or 3 structures. And the VFD left the tires and bedding material in the house, doesn't hurt to ask them.

In my city, I drive to work, 4 miles and there are 5 house being crushed this week. Permits out the wazoo... don't know the recent price but back in 2008, it was $3000 - $3500 for about 1100 sq ft house. The two that are being crushed a couple houses down from us were bought for $420,000 and the bigger one was $480,000.

The house we own will also be a "tear down" but hoping to get $500,000 in a few years.

I would wait and get the house out of the court system. If it has to sell before it's settled, I don't think the house would reduce the price that much. At least not around here... it's all too common to remove a house.

My daughters house was irreparably damaged by a tornado -- in Silver Spring, MD no less. The one lesson to share is: start early. It was amazing how many inspectors had to visit before the permit was issued. They had to check for asbestos, lead paint, rodents, drainage, gas lines, et al. Once started, it took two hours to bring it al down and a day to clean it up.

Sorry for so many quotes tied together but I figured an All-in-one replay was better than 3 separate ones that repeated a lot.

Generally speaking Fire Departments will very seldom burn an "Acquired Structure" for training anymore. EPA regulations being the chief issue - given the amount of things you are NOT allowed to burn it ends up being very costly / manpower intensive to remediate things like asbestos roofing or vinyl siding or PVC Plumbing. And while on the topic of things we can't burn, in some places burning things like tires, appliances, etc is also bad Ju-Ju and may run you afoul of the Fire Marshal should you give it a try.

Next issue for the FD is, depending on the structural integrity of the building in question, NFPA 1403 (Standard on Live Fire Training) may require certain repairs or safety issues be addressed to make the structure enterable - again this becomes both cost & manpower prohibitive for the FD. As an example we had a structure once that was missing the railing around the stairwell on the 2nd floor. Stairs were fine just no railing around the well. 1403 would require we built one of some fashion to keep people from crawling / falling in accidentally - instead we tore out the stairs and made the 2nd floor off limits. Other issues might not be so easy to eliminate.


All of that being said - from a FD perspective there is still a LOT we can do to train on an Acquired Structure with out burning it (that are otherwise destructive and hence we don't get to do it very often) so hopefully they will jump at the chance to use it.


All of these hurdles will also be a challenge for you to just burn it yourself. These things are generally common but your State or Local Jurisdiction may have more or less requirements so I suggest a call to the Fire Marshals office to see what hoops you need to jump through to tear down & burn the structure. Then you can contact the FD and see if they are interested in using it for any training (including burning). Even if they decline to burn it they might want it for other things and then in turn will "stand by" on site while you burn it.

Best of luck whatever you end up doing.

 

[RobertN]

While I was volunteering, we had a few houses "donated" for fire training. It was great to be able to train in a real structure; closest to the real thing you can get. We did numerous evolutions over a few days; search for victims, limited access, emergency evacuation etc. We got our volunteers from three districts together on weekend, and paid crews on their regular schedule. When all was done, we burnt them to the ground.

That said, we did have to turn down a couple of houses due to lead paint and asbestos.

Another limiter can be time of year, and air quality restrictions.

All said, it was great training experience every time.

 

[ch1ch2]

Irving Texas,(big city in DFW metro-plex) has had several blown up in movies.
Contact some movie companies. They should cover all costs.

 

[MickeyDBC]

If you are planning to sell the property an old house that is still in weekend hunting cabin condition can add value. Now, if the roof has been leaking a lot and the interior is rotting and moldy it is probably too far gone for even that.

That being said, we bought a place that had an old 60's ranch house on it that had been vacant for almost ten years. The roof leaked and had to be replaced before we could get it insured, everything needs paint and updating, and we are going to tile the whole house to replace old ratty carpet and sheet vinyl. But the house bones are solid and the floorplan is decent so for about 25K it will go from a "free" house (bought the place by the acre because the seller thought the house should be torn down) to a nice weekend and vacation place. One man's trash is often another's treasure.

 

[Oldoak]

It's a mixed bag. Depending upon the state and local ordinances, even in the country, you may need a permit $$ to construct a building and also need a permit to demolish a building $$. And then there is always taxes. We were taxed on an old building which we didn't use. We tore it down and asked for it to be removed from our taxes. Well, our taxes didn't go down, they went up, supposedly because we "improved the property"! :confused3:

 

[Peter 315]

It's a mixed bag. Depending upon the state and local ordinances, even in the country, you may need a permit $$ to construct a building and also need a permit to demolish a building $$. And then there is always taxes. We were taxed on an old building which we didn't use. We tore it down and asked for it to be removed from our taxes. Well, our taxes didn't go down, they went up, supposedly because we "improved the property"! :confused3:

That's a kick in the pants ( "improved the property'') taxes always go up

 

[dmccarty]

Just saw a small, old house torn down and a really nice new one put in its place. WHY they are building a nice, new house within 50ish feet of a major, two lane, rural highway that will have four lanes sooner rather than later is a different question. :confused3: They tore down the house very quickly with an excavator and piled the rubble in steel containers which were then hauled off.

Another older house was burned down by the VFD for training. I can remember when the old man was still living in that house. Guessing he built the house and farmed the land. The land is now a framing factoring and large storage place. Progress I suppose but I miss looking at that little house...

Later,
Dan

 

[dodge man]

I know a house nearby to me, a rural area, was torn down in just a couple of days. Hauled off the landfill. I don't think rural areas around here have any kind of permit process or inspectors. Asbestos is kind of a big deal. We deal with it where I work. Sometimes to mitigate it is nothing more than someone with a hose wetting things down so it doesn't go airborn.

 

[fishheadbob]

It cost $25, 000 for the guy who bought my parents house to have it torn down 15 years ago, it was a very big house. This being N.Y. there had to be a ton of lead, asbestos, etc. inspections before it could happen, and they had to happen as his wife is a big time politician and the house is on a major high traffic road. On top of that a lot of the interior like huge cherry pocket doors, gorgeous old oak and maple woodwork, cherry cabinets, and so on show up in restoration sales places and that may have helped lower the overall price he paid.
I had a decrepit 2 car garage torn down and dumpstered for about $2,000 three years ago. Still N.Y. but all I needed was a demolition permit for $40 and an asbestos clearance for $175.
It probably wouldn't hurt to ask your building department or whoever in your local government what you have to do without winding up getting in court and fined. My department guys were actually very helpful.

 

[shaeff]

Didn't get to read every response, but depending on condition of the interior or how it was built, you may be able to make some money off it by calling one of those "barn dismantler" companies. They harvest old wood flooring, hand hewn beams, etc.. and resell them. Depending on how the house was built, there may be some value in the structure.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

If you decide to do it yourself, I had a friend in the building recycling business who tore down houses. He said the way to do it is tear the siding and sheathing off the outside until you can pull the structure over and then take it apart on the ground. Do not try to climb a building to dismantle it. If it's 2-story, drop the ground floor first, then do the 2nd floor, then do the roof.

FYI, my friend went broke recycling lumber. He was competing with computerized mills. You won't get much out of it, if anything. <shrug> It's an option.

 

[4570Man]

I'd take the burn it down option. Disposal fees are expensive plus a days work with an excavator.

 

[Beltzington]

Appreciate all your comments, I have been making calls and was surprised to find the county does not require any permits to destroy the structure, inspector did tell me the county landfill would not accept the waste so I am not sure what would be done with it I assume buried or burned. Also, selling the land and house may still be an option, I spoke with a real-estate attorney and he said even though a full disclosure would likely be required it would just need to state the seller has nothing to disclose other than the current condition of the house as they never occupied it. In real-estate terms it is called a relo contract which is used when I business sells the home of an employee they have relocated.

I'll keep the fire department in-mind if we decide to demolish the house, it is unlikely they would burn it as it is located near other homes but if they could use it as training why not let them benefit.

 

[MickeyDBC]

Appreciate all your comments, I have been making calls and was surprised to find the county does not require any permits to destroy the structure, inspector did tell me the county landfill would not accept the waste so I am not sure what would be done with it I assume buried or burned. Also, selling the land and house may still be an option, I spoke with a real-estate attorney and he said even though a full disclosure would likely be required it would just need to state the seller has nothing to disclose other than the current condition of the house as they never occupied it. In real-estate terms it is called a relo contract which is used when I business sells the home of an employee they have relocated.

I'll keep the fire department in-mind if we decide to demolish the house, it is unlikely they would burn it as it is located near other homes but if they could use it as training why not let them benefit.

When we bought our ranch (it was from an estate) we did not have to have the house inspected, the seller had a form stating that they had not lived there and did not know much about the condition. Much easier than buying a "real" house in town.