What A Demolition Quote Should Include
Two bids on the same house can differ by twenty thousand dollars and both be honest. The difference is almost always in what was left out.
When an owner shows us a competing bid, we rarely argue with the price. We look at what is missing. Permits, the asbestos survey, utility disconnects, the sewer cap, the backfill, the diversion paperwork. Any one of those left off makes a number look sharp and makes the project cost more by the time it is finished.
Legacy Demolition is a licensed local crew based in El Sobrante, working across Contra Costa and Alameda County with one fixed written number per job, permits and disposal included.
A Written Number, Not A Range
The first thing a quote should be is fixed. A range is a way of telling you the contractor has not measured the job, and it moves in one direction once the machine is on site. Our estimates are one written number after an on site walk, and the only thing that changes it is something nobody could see, like an unpermitted basement or a buried tank.
The Lines That Should Be There
- Permits and fees. The demolition permit, plan check if required, and who files it. If the quote says owner to obtain permit, that is your time and your money.
- Asbestos survey and Air District notification. Required on every demolition in the Bay Area. If it is not on the bid, it is coming as a change order.
- Utility disconnects. Gas, electric, water and the sewer cap, including the trenching and the inspections.
- Debris hauling and diversion. Tipping fees, recycling and the weight tickets that document the sixty five percent the county wants diverted.
- Backfill and final grade. What the hole looks like when the crew leaves. Compacted and graded, or an open pit and a pile of soil.
Planning A Project In The East Bay?
Free on-site estimate anywhere in Contra Costa or Alameda County. One fixed written number, permits included.
Get My Free EstimateThe Exclusions Worth Reading Twice
Contaminated soil, buried tanks, unpermitted structures and hazardous material abatement are legitimate exclusions on almost any bid, because nobody can price what nobody can see. That is fine. What is not fine is excluding permits, disposal or the final grade, which are all knowable on the day of the walk.
Read the exclusions before the price. A bid that excludes hauling is a bid for knocking a building over and leaving it in the yard. Our residential demolition and commercial demolition pages list what our scope covers by default.
Why Two Honest Bids Differ
Access is the biggest variable. A house a truck can back up to and a house at the top of a shared driveway are different jobs with the same square footage. So is a structure that shares a wall, a lot with mature trees to protect, a hillside that needs shoring, and a street that needs a traffic control plan.
Materials matter too. A stick framed house with a wood roof loads out fast. Add a tile roof, a full basement, a concrete foundation with deep footings and a detached slab, and both the machine time and the tonnage go up. Costs by project type are broken down in demolition cost in the Bay Area.
Questions To Ask Before You Sign
Ask for the license number and check it. Ask who the on site lead will be and whether that person has a phone you can call. Ask what happens if the job hits rain, and whether the site is left secured. Ask how the diversion tickets are delivered, since some jurisdictions require them before the permit closes.
And ask what the last day looks like. A demolition is finished when the lot is graded, the utilities are visibly capped and the final inspection has passed, not when the building is down. If a bid cannot describe that day, it has not priced it. More on the sequence in how long a house demolition takes.
The cheapest bid on the table is usually the one with the fewest lines on it.
Legacy Demolition site leadCommon Questions
Is a demolition estimate free?
Ours is. We walk the property, measure, check access and utilities, and send one written number.
How long is a quote good for?
Thirty days is typical. Disposal rates and permit fees are the parts that move.
Does the quote cover the permit fee itself?
On our bids the permit fee is listed as a separate line at cost, so you see exactly what the jurisdiction charges.
What changes the price after signing?
Only genuine unknowns, like buried debris, an undisclosed basement or a tank. Anything visible on the walk is already in the number.
Every project starts with a free on-site walk-through. Call (510) 804-1333 or request your free estimate.
One number, and the lines that back it up.
Legacy Demolition prices from an on site walk and delivers a fixed written quote with permits, survey, utility disconnects, hauling, diversion and final grade itemized, so you can compare it line for line against anything else on the table.
Residential Demolition
Commercial Demolition
Pool Removal
Excavation
Concrete Removal
Driveway Removal
Land Clearing
Dirt & Grading
Bobcat & Excavator