Take out what goes. Protect what stays.
Most of a demolition happens before anything comes down — the permit, the utility disconnects, the asbestos survey and the dust control plan. We run all of it, then clear the site and hand back a lot you can build on.
— On the job
What Demolition Work Looks Like
Photographs from Quest jobs, and where a stage of this trade is not in the camera roll yet, a licensed stock photograph marked as one.
— How it runs
How we approach Demolition
How we approach the work, from the first look to the final details.
Define what stays
We identify the structure, services and finishes that must survive the removal.
Arrange the prerequisites
We start with the utility disconnects, surveys and permit requirements for the job.
Protect and remove
We protect what stays and work through the planned removal sequence with dust control in place.
Clear the site
We separate the loads for disposal and review the completed removal against the scope.
Demolition Services by Quest Construction
Demolition is the one trade whose schedule is set by other people, and mostly by the utilities.
A demolition permit is its own application, separate from the building permit for whatever follows it, and no Valley city will issue one until the water, gas and electric services are disconnected and signed off by the utility rather than by us. Those sign-offs are the long pole on almost every job, which is why we start them first and give you a start date only once they are filed.
What comes down is usually the simpler half. We plan the sequence around what stays — a shared wall, a slab you intend to build on, a mature tree, the neighbour's block wall, the services feeding the rooms you are keeping — protect it, and take the rest out in an order that keeps the site safe and the loads separated on the way to the tip.
What we account for
Utility disconnects started before a demolition date is promised.
The removal sequence planned around what is staying.
Dust control treated as part of the work.
Remodel strip-outs planned to protect retained rooms and services.
— FAQs
Demolition Services FAQ
Addressing your demolition questions and concerns.
Do I need a permit to demolish a building?
In every Valley city, yes, and it is a separate permit from the one for whatever you build afterwards. It is also not issued on the strength of an application alone: the city wants evidence the utilities are disconnected and, in most cases, that the structure has been surveyed for asbestos. Some interior strip-outs fall below the threshold, but that is a call for the building department to make, not for a contractor who wants the work.
Why does asbestos come up on a house from the 1980s?
Because the ban was narrower and later than most people assume. Asbestos turns up in popcorn ceilings, in floor tile and the mastic under it, in duct wrap and in some joint compounds, in houses well newer than the 1970s. Maricopa County wants the structure surveyed before demolition, and the survey is cheap next to finding out halfway through a teardown, when the answer is a stopped job.
What happens about dust?
Maricopa County is a federal non-attainment area for airborne particulates, which is why dust control here is a permit condition rather than a courtesy. Larger sites need a dust control permit of their own, and the plan behind it — watering, wind thresholds, track-out control at the exit — is enforceable. We work to it because it is the rule, and because a neighbour who reports it can stop your job for longer than the watering would have taken.
Can you take out part of a house without touching the rest?
Yes, and it is most of what we do. A remodel strip-out means taking a house back to studs and slab while the structure, the services you are keeping and the finishes in the rooms outside the scope all survive. It is slower than a teardown and it is priced accordingly, because the value in it is everything that does not get broken.
How long does a demolition take?
The teardown itself is usually days. The permit and the utility disconnects are usually weeks, and they are almost never on our schedule — the utility sets that date. Anyone quoting you a start date without having filed for the disconnects is quoting you a hope.
Clear the Site Before You Build
A full teardown or a room back to studs? Tell us what needs to go and, just as importantly, what must stay.