Shed Demolition
Shed demolition is the residential trade that dismantles a backyard shed top-down — roof first, walls down, floor up — and hauls the debris sorted for disposal, from $500 for a 6x8 wood shed on bare ground to $1,500 for a 12x16 metal-kit shed with a metal roof on a wood floor frame. Wood, metal, or resin sheds all covered; standard sizes from 6x8 through 12x16. Concrete pad left in place by default — slab break-up is a separate site-prep scope quoted on request. Salvageable shed contents (the lawnmower, the tools, the bikes), shed doors and hardware, and any framing in good condition stage for your reuse or donation per your direction. Pole-barn structures, sheds over 200 sq ft on a permanent foundation, and sheds with installed electrical or plumbing route to the structural or licensed-trade side.
Service
What Does a Shed Demolition Include?
A Handis shed demolition is the full top-down dismantle of a residential backyard shed — roof, walls, floor frame, anchors, and debris haul — from $500 for a 6x8 wood-frame shed on bare ground to $1,500 for a 12x16 metal-kit shed with a metal roof. Wood, metal, and resin construction all covered. Concrete pad (where one exists) left in place by default; slab break-up quoted separately as a site-prep add-on. Sheds with installed electrical (a hardwired light or outlet) need an electrician disconnect first. Sheds over 200 sq ft, sheds on a permanent foundation, and pole-barn structures route to the structural trade.
Contents Out First
Whatever is in the shed comes out first — lawnmower, weed-eater, garden tools, bikes, the dust-covered camping gear from 2015. We help move shed contents to the garage, the driveway, or a covered staging area per your direction so the contents are not damaged during the demo and you do not lose track of what was in there.
Roof First (Top-Down)
Asphalt shingle roof torn off with a roofing shovel and a flat bar; metal roof panels unscrewed and pulled off in whole sheets; resin or vinyl shed-cap pieces lifted off. Roof framing (rafters, sheathing) dismantled and stacked. Roof debris sorted at the dump trailer — shingles to disposal, metal roofing to metal recycling, sheathing to wood disposal.
Walls Down
Wood-frame shed walls unscrewed at the corner connections and laid down panel by panel. Metal-kit shed walls (Tuff Shed, Arrow, Lifetime, Suncast hybrids) disassembled by removing the corner posts and lifting each wall panel off its anchor track. Resin shed walls snapped or unscrewed at the joinery and stacked. Doors and door hardware come off with the wall they were mounted in.
Floor Frame Up
Wood floor frame (typically 2x4 or 2x6 joists on skids or anchored to the ground) pried up. Floor decking (3/4-inch OSB or plywood) pulled off the joists first, then the joist frame lifted out. Skid runners hauled with the rest. If the floor was anchored to a concrete pad with hold-downs, the hold-down hardware comes off the pad and the pad stays in place.
Concrete Pad Left in Place
Where the shed sits on a concrete pad, the pad stays in place by default — slab break-up is a separate site-prep scope quoted on request (typically with a jackhammer or a concrete saw, the broken concrete hauled to a concrete-recycling transfer station). Most homeowners leave the slab for a future use (a hot tub, a new shed, an outdoor kitchen). Where the slab is going, we tell you on the booking call what it will cost and how long it will add.
Salvage, Sort, Haul, Site Sweep
Sheds in good condition that the homeowner is replacing with a different style sometimes have salvageable framing, doors, windows, or hardware — we stage anything you want kept aside. Debris sorted at the dump trailer — clean wood, painted wood, asphalt shingles, metal roofing and walls, resin/vinyl panels — and hauled to a licensed transfer station. Site swept with a magnet for fasteners along the shed footprint.
How a Shed Demolition Works
Six sequential steps from contents-out through the cleaned footprint handoff — the actual sequence we follow on every Handis shed demolition.
Booking-Call Power and Slab Decisions
On the booking call we ask whether the shed has any installed electrical (a hardwired light, an outlet, a switch) — hardwired electrical needs an electrician to disconnect at the panel first. We also ask whether the shed sits on a concrete pad and whether the pad stays or goes (pad stays by default; slab break-up is a separate scope).
Contents Moved Out
Lawnmower, garden tools, bikes, and everything inside the shed comes out first and gets staged in the garage, the driveway, or a covered area per your direction. We help move heavy items so the contents are protected during the demo and nothing gets lost or damaged in the rush.
Roof Torn Off Top-Down
Asphalt shingle roof torn off with a roofing shovel; metal roof panels unscrewed and pulled in whole sheets; resin shed-cap lifted. Roof framing dismantled and stacked. Roof debris sorted at the dump trailer — shingles to disposal, metal to recycling, sheathing to wood disposal.
Walls Down Panel by Panel
Wood-frame walls unscrewed at the corner connections and laid down. Metal-kit walls disassembled by removing corner posts. Resin walls snapped or unscrewed at the joinery. Doors and door hardware come off with their walls. Salvageable doors, hardware, or framing staged per your direction.
Floor Frame Lifted, Anchors Pulled
Floor decking pulled off the joists, joist frame lifted out, skid runners hauled. Hold-down hardware (where the shed was anchored to a concrete pad) removed; pad left in place by default. Where the floor sat directly on bare ground, the ground is cleared and ready for the next use.
Sort, Haul, Magnet Sweep
Debris sorted at the dump trailer — clean wood, painted wood, asphalt shingles, metal roofing and walls, resin/vinyl panels — different bins, different tip fees, all passed through at cost. Hauled to a licensed transfer station with a weight receipt. Site swept with a magnet for fasteners along the footprint.
Shed Demolition Pricing
Final pricing depends on shed size, construction (wood, metal, resin), roofing type, whether the shed has installed electrical, and whether the concrete pad stays or goes. Pole-barn structures and sheds over 200 sq ft route to a structural trade. Request a free estimate for an accurate quote.
Send the shed dimensions, construction (wood, metal, resin), and a photo of the inside (we need to see what is in there) — we will quote the demo.
Why Handis for Shed Demolition
Most shed demolitions are simpler than the homeowner expects — a 6x8 wood shed comes down in three or four hours, two people, a few tools, a dump trailer. The complications are always in the variables that look like the simple part — the shed actually has a hardwired light to disconnect, the floor was anchored to a concrete pad with carriage bolts, the asphalt shingles were redone twice and the second layer is hiding the first, the metal roof is full of bee nests, the resin walls are so brittle from UV exposure that they shatter rather than disassemble. After hundreds of shed demos across Seattle backyards, the photos on the booking call tell us which variables are in play.
Hardwired electrical disconnected by an electrician first
A shed with a hardwired light, an outlet, or a switch has a 120V circuit running into it — sometimes through buried direct-burial cable, sometimes through conduit, sometimes both. We do not disconnect hardwired electrical ourselves; that is a licensed electrician's scope. On the booking call we ask whether the shed has any installed electrical, coordinate the disconnect with an electrician from our referral list if you do not have one, and arrive after the circuit is verified de-energized at the panel.
Concrete pad stays by default — break-up is a separate scope
A concrete pad under a shed is worth keeping for most homeowners — it is a flat, level, ready-to-use surface for a new shed, a hot tub, an outdoor kitchen, or a future hardscape. We leave the pad in place by default. Where the homeowner wants the pad gone, we quote the slab break-up as a separate site-prep scope (jackhammer or concrete saw, broken concrete hauled to concrete-recycling, hole backfilled or left for the next trade per your direction).
Honest scope — light, non-structural sheds only
We dismantle wood-frame, metal-kit, and resin sheds up to 12x16 standard. Sheds over 200 sq ft, sheds on permanent concrete-block or poured-concrete stem-wall foundations, pole-barn structures, and sheds with built-in plumbing or significant electrical are outside this trade — those route to a licensed Washington L&I contractor for the structural portion. We tell you on the booking call which side of the line your shed falls on so you can plan.
Contents staged, not dumped
Whatever is in the shed comes out first and goes to a covered staging area you pick (the garage, the driveway, a tarped area on the patio). We help move heavy items — lawnmowers, snow blowers, propane tanks, bikes — and we do not start the demo until the shed is empty. Propane tanks specifically need to be moved well clear of any tool work (sparks and propane do not mix).
Insured, background-checked, 30-day workmanship guarantee
Every Handis demolition tech carries liability insurance and has cleared a background screening. The 30-day workmanship guarantee covers what we did to the site — a lawn divot we should have raked smooth, a fence panel adjacent to the shed we should have protected, a missed fastener the magnet sweep should have caught, damage to a salvaged shed contents item from poor staging. Demolition damage to the shed itself is by design — that is the demo target.
Estimate
Tell us the shed dimensions, the construction (wood, metal, resin), the roof type (asphalt shingle, metal panel), whether the shed sits on a concrete pad or bare ground, whether the pad stays or goes, and whether the shed has any installed electrical. A photo of the inside is the most useful single thing you can send. We will quote the demo and any add-ons.
Customer Reviews
Shed demolition reviews from real Handis customers.
8x10 wood-frame shed in the back corner of the yard, original to the 1985 home. Asphalt shingle roof, T1-11 siding, wood floor on skids. Crew came out at 9, the lawnmower and tools moved to the garage by 9:30, roof off by 11, walls down by 12:30, floor lifted by 2. Magnet sweep on the lawn before they left. Quote held to the dollar.
Metal Tuff Shed, 10x12, on a concrete pad. We were keeping the pad for a new resin shed going in over the same footprint. Crew disassembled the metal kit by removing the corner posts and lifting each wall panel off the anchor track — actually went up faster than they expected because the kit comes apart well. One day. All metal to recycling.
Old wood shed with a hardwired light inside — I had no idea the electrician needed to come out first. Tech told me on the booking call and connected me with one of their referrals. Electrician came Tuesday and pulled the circuit at the panel; Handis came Wednesday and tore the shed down in a long morning. Coordination saved me a callback.
Big 12x16 metal-kit shed with a metal roof, a side door, and a loft. Two-person crew, day and a half. They sorted the metal roof panels from the wall panels at the trailer because the local recycler takes them in separate bins. Concrete pad stayed (going in a future hot tub). Yard is empty and clean.
Resin Suncast shed, 7x7, brittle from a decade of Seattle sun. Crew snapped most of the panels at the joinery (UV had made them snap rather than unscrew), bagged the resin for the recycling stream the local transfer takes, and hauled the lightweight pile in a half-day. Half the time of a wood shed of the same size.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about shed demolition — pricing, scope, electrical, concrete pads, and contents.