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Light Demolition

Light demolition is the trade for non-structural tear-outs and removals — the bathroom getting gutted before the new vanity, the kitchen heading for a remodel, the deck that has rotted through, the fence the storm took, the shed in the back corner that has not been opened in eight years, the carpet over hardwood we want to restore, the abandoned hot tub leaking onto the slab — from $400 for a small flooring tear-up to $6,000 for a full interior strip-out. Handis runs the eight families in one trade with the right tools, the right disposal, and the right handoff where a wall is load-bearing, a circuit is hardwired, a supply line is in the wall, or the home is pre-1980 and needs asbestos and lead testing first. Load-bearing walls and structural framing are explicitly outside this trade — those route to a licensed Washington L&I contractor and we name the issue on the booking call.

Light demolition hub image — wide shot of a Seattle bathroom mid-tear-out with the old vanity pulled out, tile floor lifted in sections, pry bar and sledge hammer leaned against the wall, debris bagged in heavy contractor sacks, and a HEPA shop vac running near the doorway.

Services

Wide editorial photo of a Handis light-demolition crew mid-job — a residential bathroom with the vanity already out and tile being lifted in sections, a stack of bagged debris staged by the front door, dump trailer visible through the open doorway in the driveway.
Pricing

Light Demolition Pricing

Final pricing depends on room size, debris volume, disposal weight at the transfer station, and any abatement handoff for pre-1980 homes. Each child page lists detailed pricing for that family of work. Request a free estimate for an accurate quote.

Tell us what is coming out and we will quote the demo, the disposal, and any abatement handoff.

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Why Seattle Homeowners Book Handis for Light Demolition
Trust

Why Seattle Homeowners Book Handis for Light Demolition

Most demolition calls we get are not the demo itself — they are the questions around it. Is this wall load-bearing? Is that popcorn ceiling asbestos? Who caps the gas before the range comes out? Does the tile have lead glaze? Where does the debris go? We answer those questions on the booking call before a tool ever leaves the truck, and we route the parts we cannot legally do (the structural sign-off, the asbestos abatement, the gas-line cap, the 240V disconnect) to the right licensed trade in the order they need to happen. The actual tear-out is the easy part once the sequence is right.

Estimate

Tell us what is coming out (the bathroom, the kitchen, the deck, the shed, the floor, the hot tub), the home's age (pre-1980 triggers asbestos and lead testing), whether utilities are still live, and any salvage you want kept aside. We will quote the demo, the disposal weight, and any abatement or licensed-trade handoff.

Service cost estimate illustration
Reviews

What Our Customers Say

Recent light-demolition reviews from verified Seattle-area customers.

Full kitchen gut before the remodel. Tech told me on the call that the gas line to the range needed a plumber to cap it BEFORE the demo day — I had assumed Handis would handle it. He gave me a name, the plumber came out Tuesday, Handis crew came out Wednesday. Cabinets out, counters out, backsplash off, hood pulled, vinyl flooring scraped, all to the dumpster by end of day Thursday. Quartz counter went to ReStore at my request.

Brandon and Liz K., Kitchen Tear-Out

1958 bathroom remodel, popcorn ceiling. Crew tested the ceiling before doing anything — came back positive for asbestos. They stopped, gave me the name of a certified abatement contractor for the ceiling, and came back the next week to tear out the rest (vanity, tile floor, tub, drywall) after the abatement was done. Could not have asked for a cleaner handoff. They saved me from a very illegal mistake.

Maureen P., Pre-1980 Bathroom Tear-Out

400 sq ft elevated deck, completely rotted, scary to walk on. Crew dismantled top down — boards, joists, ledger (they patched the ledger flashing where it came off the house), then cut the 4x4 posts at grade. Sorted PT lumber from cedar at the trailer. Three days for the tear-down and haul, dump receipts handed over Friday morning. The yard looked like the deck had never been there.

Walter H., Deck Removal

Hot tub the previous owner left rotting on the patio for two years. Hardwired 240V. Handis told me on the call I needed an electrician to disconnect first — they coordinated it with one of their referrals. Day of the haul they drained the tub through a sump to my storm drain, took the cover off, cut the shell in halves to fit through my side gate, hauled the pump module separately. Slab is clean.

Tara and Jeremy O., Hot Tub Removal

Whole main floor flooring removal — 800 sq ft of carpet and pad, plus a small entry of 9x9 vinyl tile we suspected was from the 70s. Crew tested the vinyl, came back positive, brought in an abatement contractor for that 30 sq ft, then pulled the carpet, the pad, all the tackstrips, the staples, and scraped the adhesive on the entry tile. Subfloor swept clean for the LVP installer. Two days of work, two days saved.

Helena and Trevor S., Flooring Removal with ACM Handoff
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about light-demolition services — pricing, scope, asbestos and lead, what is structural, who caps utilities, and disposal.

How much does light demolition cost?
A small flooring tear-up starts at $400. A standard 6x8 wood shed demolition starts at $500. A plug-in curbside-accessible hot tub haul starts at $500. A standard 30-foot wood fence run starts at $600. A standard 5x8 bathroom tear-out starts at $1,200. A 100 sq ft ground-level deck removal starts at $1,200. A single-room interior strip-out starts at $1,500. A standard galley kitchen tear-out starts at $1,800. Full interior strip-outs across multiple rooms, granite or quartz counter disposal, large 400 sq ft elevated decks with stairs, 150-foot fence perimeters with concrete dig-outs, and 12x16 sheds with metal roofing can push into the $5,000 to $6,000 range. Pre-1980 abatement, structural sign-off, and licensed-trade utility caps are separate trades and quoted by those contractors directly.
What does Handis NOT demolish?
We do not remove load-bearing walls, do not cut structural framing, do not touch roof rafters or trusses, do not pull anything that needs an engineer's stamp or a structural permit, and do not break asbestos-containing material into the air. Anything load-bearing routes to a licensed Washington L&I contractor for the structural portion. Confirmed asbestos (pre-1980 popcorn ceilings, 9x9 vinyl tile, some drywall joint compound, pipe wrap) routes to a Washington Department of Labor and Industries certified abatement contractor before we touch the surrounding area.
Do I need to disconnect gas, water, or electrical before you arrive?
Yes — and we tell you which trade does what on the booking call. Gas to a range or a furnace: a licensed plumber on the gas line. Hardwired 240V circuit to a hot tub, range, or dryer: an electrician. In-wall plumbing supply or drain that does not have a shut-off at the fixture: a licensed plumber. We coordinate the sequence so the right trade arrives, caps the right line, signs off, and then we arrive for the demo. Showing up to a kitchen demo with a live gas range is a fire we will not start.
How do you handle asbestos and lead on pre-1980 homes?
We test before tear-out where no abatement documentation exists. Common positive surfaces — popcorn ceilings (sprayed-on texture before 1980), 9x9 vinyl floor tile and the black mastic under it, drywall joint compound on some vintages, pipe wrap, and lead glaze on older ceramic tile. Confirmed asbestos-containing material (ACM) routes to a Washington State certified abatement contractor before we work in the same room. Lead-paint surfaces follow the EPA RRP rule for any disturbance over six sq ft inside or twenty sq ft outside; we name the requirement and route to a certified RRP contractor where it applies.
What happens to the debris?
Everything that comes out is sorted into the right stream and hauled to a licensed King County or Snohomish County transfer station. Clean dimensional lumber, painted wood, drywall, metal, tile and concrete, carpet and pad, and general construction debris each go to the correct bin. Salvageable items (cabinets in good condition, fixtures, doors, hardware) get donated to Habitat for Humanity ReStore at the homeowner's request — free, with a donation receipt. You get the actual dump weight receipt with the final invoice; tonnage-based tip fees are passed through at cost.
How do you tell a load-bearing wall from a non-load-bearing partition?
Three confirmations before any partition comes down. First — the framing plan if the homeowner has one (originals or remodel as-builts). Second — the wall's orientation against the floor joists above (a wall perpendicular to the joists carrying weight is the suspect; a wall parallel under no point load is usually a partition). Third — what is in the attic or floor above (a header line, a beam, a load path to a post). Where any of the three is unclear, we stop and route to a structural reference (often the customer's general contractor, an engineer, or a Washington L&I contractor) for a sign-off before we cut. We will not guess on a wall that might be load-bearing.
Do you do permitted demolition?
Most interior light demolition in Seattle does not require a permit — fixture removal, cabinet removal, drywall removal on non-structural partitions, flooring tear-out, deck removal on residential property under the threshold, fence removal, shed under the size threshold, and hot tub removal. Where the project crosses a permit threshold (a structural alteration, an exterior demolition over the city size threshold, lead-RRP-required surface disturbance), we name the requirement on the booking call and the permitted scope routes to a licensed Washington L&I contractor who pulls the permit. We do not pull permits ourselves; we work as the non-permitted demo crew on the parts that do not need one.
How long does a typical demolition take?
A 200 sq ft carpet tear-up runs half a day. A 5x8 bathroom tear-out runs one day. A galley kitchen tear-out runs one to two days depending on cabinet count and counter material. A 100 sq ft deck removal runs half a day; a 400 sq ft elevated deck with stairs runs two to three days. A 30-foot fence run runs half a day; a 150-foot perimeter with concrete dig-outs runs two days. A hot tub haul runs two to four hours after the electrician has been out. A 6x8 wood shed runs half a day; a 12x16 with metal roofing runs one to one-and-a-half days. We give you a number on the booking call and update it on arrival if the site reveals something we could not see from photos.
Can you save salvageable items for donation or sale?
Yes. Tell us on the booking call what you want kept aside — cabinets in good condition, doors, hardware, light fixtures, mirrors, sinks, even tile pulled in whole sheets where the homeowner wants to re-use. We stage salvage in the garage or driveway during the tear-out and either you handle the donation or sale, or we drop it at Habitat for Humanity ReStore on the way to the transfer station. ReStore drop-off is free; you get a donation receipt for your tax records.
What if you find mold, rot, or active water damage behind the wall or under the floor?
We stop and document before going further. Mold remediation requires a separate licensed trade with the right containment and PPE — we name a remediation contractor and pause the demo until they sign off. Active water leaks need a plumber to find and fix the source before the surrounding framing dries out. Rotting structural framing (joists, sills, ledger boards on decks) is a structural repair that routes to a licensed Washington L&I contractor. We document with photos, give you the updated scope, and resume the non-structural demo after the underlying issue is handled.
Are you licensed and insured for this work?
Yes. Handis carries Washington State business licensing, general liability insurance, and workers' compensation on every crew. The work we do under this trade is light, non-structural demolition within the handyman scope — no permitted structural work, no asbestos abatement, no electrical or gas line work. The parts that require a specific Washington State Department of Labor and Industries contractor license (structural, certified asbestos abatement, lead RRP, electrical, gas plumbing) explicitly route to a contractor who holds that license, and we coordinate the sequence on the booking call so the right trade arrives first.

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Monday:09:00 - 21:00
Tuesday:09:00 - 21:00
Wednesday:09:00 - 21:00
Thursday:09:00 - 21:00
Friday:09:00 - 21:00
Saturday:09:00 - 21:00
Sunday:Closed

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