Basement demolition in Scarborough
Most basement demolition is undoing a previous owner's weekend, back to the slab and the foundation walls. We see bungalow tear-downs for two-storey rebuilds, basement gut-outs for second suites, and a steady run of kitchens.
Scarborough, on the ground.
Scarborough is mostly 1950s to 1970s bungalows and side-splits on 40 to 50 foot lots, nearly all old enough to need a designated-substances survey. That tells us how much of what we will find is drywall and truss and how much is panelling, plaster and glued-down tile. Driveways are wide enough for the bin and a mini-excavator, so less rubble gets carried by hand than in the old city. The stair is sealed, upstairs floors are protected, and framing, ceilings and flooring go out to a 20 yard bin while the furnace and panel stay untouched.
Read more about demolition in Scarborough or the full basement demolition service page.
On the ticket.
Dust walls at the stair; upstairs floors protected on the route to the bin
Water and power isolated by licensed trades; old bathroom plumbing capped
Framing, drywall, panelling, insulation, dropped ceilings and flooring out
Old bathrooms, bars, closets and built-ins removed
Furnace, water heater, panel and services left in place and protected
Slab and foundation walls swept clean and photographed at handover
Paper first.
A non-structural basement strip-out usually needs no permit; the finish or second unit that follows does, and a new foundation cut needs an engineer. Permits come from Toronto Building; Scarborough has had no separate permit office since amalgamation in 1998.
- A non-structural basement strip-out usually needs no permit. The finish or second unit that follows does.
- Cutting a new side entrance through the foundation, or lowering the floor, is structural: permit, engineer and a separate quote.
- Pre-1990 houses: vermiculite insulation, floor tile and duct tape can contain asbestos. A designated-substances survey comes first (O. Reg. 278/05).
The plates on every truck: WSIB, insurance, demolition permits, asbestos survey, utility locates, crew training.
| Driver | What we look at |
|---|---|
| Floor area | Square footage going back to concrete. |
| Finishes and how it was built | Plaster, tile and framed-over ductwork slow the strip. |
| Access | A walk-out with a driveway beside it is one job; a narrow stair through the kitchen is another. |
| Bins and tipping | Bin count by weight. |
| Permit and utility locates | Whether a permit applies and whether we book the locates. |
The number comes from a site walk. Concrete cutting for a new entrance and underpinning are quoted separately.
Usually not for the strip-out. The finish or second unit that follows needs a permit from the City of Toronto (Toronto Building), and any load-bearing wall needs one before it comes out.
Three days on a typical basement: contain and disconnect, strip to concrete, sweep and sign off. [Kam confirms for a [n] sq ft basement.]
A designated-substances survey. Houses of that age often have asbestos in floor tile, duct tape, plaster or vermiculite. If the survey finds something, a licensed abatement crew removes it first. [Whether that crew is ours depends on licensing Kam confirms.]