Demolition contractor machines with operators

What a demolition involves

Demolition is more paperwork and planning than machine time. A single-storey house comes down in a few days, but the permits, the asbestos check and the services take weeks. This is the order a house or building demolition follows.

1. Survey the building. Check for asbestos (old roof sheets, gutters, downpipes and ceiling boards are the usual places), check the age of the building for heritage, and on anything bigger than a simple house, have a structural survey done.
2. Get the permits. Municipal written permission, at least 10 working days' notice to the municipality, and a heritage permit if any part is older than 60 years.
3. Disconnect the services. Have electricity, water and gas disconnected and made safe at the boundary. The regulations require their location and nature to be established before demolition starts.
4. Remove the asbestos, by a registered asbestos contractor, before any machine touches the building.
5. Strip out what you want to keep. Doors, windows, roof timbers, steel and fittings can be salvaged and sold before the machine starts.
6. Bring it down. The excavator or breaker TLB demolishes from the top down, away from neighbours and the street, and breaks the slab and foundations.
7. Sort and load the rubble. Concrete and brick, steel and timber are separated where possible and loaded onto tipper trucks.
8. Level the site and fill the foundation trenches, ready to sell or build.

How long demolition takes

A rough guide to machine time once the permits are in place and the asbestos is out. Concrete-framed buildings, basements, steep sites and tight neighbours take longer.

Permits and rules: what you must sort out before demolition

Municipal permission and notice

• Written permission first. Regulation E1 of the National Building Regulations: no one may demolish any building without the local authority's prior written permission. The municipality can attach conditions for public safety and to protect neighbouring buildings.
• At least 10 days' notice. Regulation A22: the property owner must notify the municipality, in its required form, of the date demolition will start, at least 10 days before, not counting Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
• Method. Under regulation E3 the municipality may ban a demolition method it considers dangerous to people or property.
• Leave it safe. A part-demolished building or site may not be left in a condition dangerous to the public or neighbours.

Buildings older than 60 years

Section 34 of the National Heritage Resources Act: no one may alter or demolish any structure, or part of one, older than 60 years without a permit from the provincial heritage resources authority (Heritage Western Cape in the Western Cape, for example). Many South African suburbs were built more than 60 years ago, so check the date on the original plans or the title deed history before you book a machine.

Asbestos

Buildings with asbestos-cement roofs, gutters or boards are common in older South African towns. Under the Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020:

• a competent person must record all asbestos-containing material in an inventory of asbestos in place (regulation 4);
• the Department of Employment and Labour's provincial office must be notified in writing at least seven days before asbestos work starts (regulation 10);
• for removal work the client appoints an approved inspection authority and uses a registered asbestos contractor, and gets an asbestos clearance certificate after the work (regulation 11).

Safety on a demolition site

Regulation 14 of the Construction Regulations, 2014 requires a competent person, appointed in writing, to supervise demolition; a structural engineering survey and a written method statement before work starts; services located and made safe; adjoining buildings and roads kept stable; and no one working under unsupported parts of the structure. On a house this is straightforward; on a framed or multi-storey building it is an engineer's job.

Neighbours and dust

Tell the neighbours the dates, protect shared walls, and keep the dust down with a water hose or a water truck on bigger jobs (see dust suppression). The full checklist is in our demolition guide.