Interior demolition.
Interior demolition is the house gutted and the shell left standing: every finish, fixture, partition and ceiling out, the framing, the exterior walls and whatever the engineer says stays. It is the first trade on a whole-house renovation, a multi-unit conversion, or a flip, and everything after it goes faster if it is done cleanly. We contain the dust, protect the stair, keep the services you want, and hand over a house you can see the bones of.
On the ticket.
Whole-house containment: dust walls, sealed HVAC, protected stair and exterior doors
Water and power isolated by licensed trades; services to stay marked and protected
Drywall, plaster and lath, ceilings, insulation, flooring and underlayment out
Kitchens, bathrooms, closets, built-ins, doors and trim removed
Non-structural partitions out; load-bearing walls left or removed under the structural scope
Nails pulled, joists and studs swept, photos of every room at handover
Lines, not guesses.
| Driver | What we look at |
|---|---|
| Floor area and storeys | Square footage over every floor coming out. |
| Walls and floors | Plaster and lath and three layers of flooring take longer than drywall and one. |
| Access | Hand-carry to a street bin adds labour on every load. |
| 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. Plaster and lath, three layers of flooring and hand-carry to a street bin move it up; the walk accounts for all three.
Paper first.
- Gutting a house to the studs is non-structural and usually needs no demolition permit. The renovation that follows needs a building permit.
- Any load-bearing wall, stair or floor opening is structural: permit, engineer's drawing and temporary shoring.
- Pre-1990 houses: a designated-substances survey comes first (O. Reg. 278/05). Plaster, floor tile, vermiculite and pipe insulation are the usual finds.
- Multi-unit conversions and second suites need a building permit and, in some municipalities, zoning approval before the finish goes in.
The plates on every truck: WSIB, insurance, demolition permits, asbestos survey, utility locates, crew training.
Not for the strip-out itself, if nothing structural comes out. The renovation that follows needs a building permit, and any load-bearing wall or stair needs one before it moves.
A week for a typical two-storey house with a crew, less for a bungalow, more for plaster and lath. [Kam confirms.]
Yes, if it is sound and you tell us before we start. We protect it and work around it. Old strip flooring nailed to the joists rarely survives being lifted, so keeping it in place is the way.
Expect plaster and lath, knob-and-tube wiring, and a designated-substances survey before we start. The bins fill faster and the number reflects it.
Dead wiring and abandoned pipe come out with the walls. Live services stay until your electrician and plumber take over, and we mark them.