quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
Demolish a house? Sounds like a fun project for a SIGforum get-together.

HA !!! ... would be fun LOL
I'd even though, you know ... if every person in this town with population of 25K, would just drive by and take 1-5lbs of material, I'd be done with it ricky-tic !!!

I have no idea what it costs, but I once saw a house bigger than that one knocked down by a medium bulldozer like a D6. It took no time at all. Hauling away the wreckage is the time consuming part.

I'm told that years ago, a house across the street burned down and they dug a big hole on the property and buried the charred remains. Don't know if that is even legal now days though ... and I'd think it would have to be a pretty big hole !!! Guess it was cheaper than hauling debris off.

I would call reputable/licensed local demolition companies and get turnkey estimates.
They would know how to do the permits, insurance disposal, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
Demolish a house? Sounds like a fun project for a SIGforum get-together.

Tannerite Party!!!

Offer it for sale to be moved. Somebody might buy it for $500 or $2000 as a fixer upper. Particularly considering the insane housing market and cost of materials.

We got two little houses for free because the new owners of the property didn’t want to pay to have them demolished and hauled off. They made nice little rental houses after some remodeling.

Might want to look through the place to see if anything of value was stashed somewhere. Could be cash, guns, jewellery, anything.

If they used it for cooking meth, it has no value and possibly has residual effects due to the Materials involved. When I was with the state, the state lab had a team who would come out and do mitigation. Depending on where you are, I would ask the fire department to come burn it. Not even worth scrapping it with the contamination present. Has to go in a lined land fill, demo company has all kinds of permits they would have to get and certify it was clean when they are done. Luck with that, Let us know how it works out. If I was close, I’d hire some firefighters I know and call it a training exercise. I would drop that and your house would not have a scratch.

If you are retired and have the time look into renting a track hoe, and a bucket loader. You could find someone with a dump truck to haul it to the land fill on a per load basis.

Bet you could save a ton of money this way, and have some fun.

I'll go a diffetent direction for gotchas.
A house in thar condition, almost assurededly has new "residents".
Mice, rats, racoons etc. They will go "someplace else" more hospitable, when their digs are torn down.
Seems there is a nice quiet place next door they might migrate to.


Might want to get an exterminator in there before demo.

We used to use houses just like that for fire training and burn them down when done....no more of that....EPA regulations have put a stop to that nonsense several years ago. It would be a valuable training asset to the local FD for room and content fires though...that is still allowed once they can verify no hazardous materials....they would take samples and send to lab to confirm asbestos/lead/meth lab shit is not present.
Another thought is offer it up to the local PD for training opportunities....I know our SWAT team actively seeks out such properties and use them frequently.....valuable to those teams.
While none of the above helps you get rid of the structure it is greatly appreciated by your local emergency services!

quote:

Originally posted by PeteF:
I'll go a diffetent direction for gotchas.
A house in thar condition, almost assurededly has new "residents".
Mice, rats, racoons etc. They will go "someplace else" more hospitable, when their digs are torn down.
Seems there is a nice quiet place next door they might migrate to.


Might want to get an exterminator in there before demo.

I do my own pest control. You should have seen the size of some of the Norwegian RATS those CONTRAC BLOX revealed. And I've never seen SO MANY dead bugs in one house ... CYONARA bugs.

I've only ever had 2 field mice in my house over the course of 15yrs but that house had some da-gum RATS !!! One former tenant said a rat bit her daughter on the face one night ... they moved shortly thereafter.

House is (relatively) pest free right now.

I have a single word of advice:

TANNERITE!

Lots of it too.

Video it and it will go viral.

You, on the other hand, will likely go to jail.... but it will still be epic!

A house built that long ago should have lead paint and most likely asbestos. Unless previously removed.

Asbestos can be in walls, flooring, insulation to name a few places.

Both are considered hazardous and must be disposed of in special places with special permits.

You are not allowed to get the stuff airborne and you need to be certified to do that kind of demolition.

It is not cheap.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig2340:
I have a single word of advice:

TANNERITE!

Lots of it too.

Video it and it will go viral.

You, on the other hand, will likely go to jail.... but it will still be epic!

HA !!! ... I do have to be careful around here LOL. My backyard neighbor is the county circuit judge. Jeff and Penny are GREAT neighbors and I behave well enough to get invited to their Christmas party every year ... but even then they don't hand out "get out of jail free" cards

Thank you for all the comments guys. Thank you !!!
Some really good thoughts and ideas shared.

Guess I'll start with going to the city engineers office just to see if there's anything the city can do with any demolition monies that might still be around or soon expected from the state.

Kinda leery about getting the city involved though ... unless they are going to tear it down. Otherwise they might just bring some complications my way. Not like I'm related to anyone there or something.

Then, I'll get 3 estimates for demolition from local contractors. Depending on how those conversations go, I may get in touch with the local habitat for humanity and/or fire department and law enforcement.

At the end of the day ... i just want that structure g-o-n-e gone.

EDIT: I spoke directly with my city councilman last December and he told me at that time all city demolition monies were allocated. I see him at the neighbor judge's Christmas party every year and the councilman would give me the straight skinny ... whether I like it or not LOL.

I had the exact same issue next to me. Derelict property, owner died in it, and it was left to deteriorate further for 3 - 4 years. I was able to buy it at auction, and salvage some long leaf pine and architectural details, but most of the house was rotten.

It took $10,000 to have the house knocked down and put in a dumpster.

quote:

Originally posted by GJG:
I had the exact same issue next to me. Derelict property, owner died in it, and it was left to deteriorate further for 3 - 4 years. I was able to buy it at auction, and salvage some long leaf pine and architectural details, but most of the house was rotten.

It took $10,000 to have the house knocked down and put in a dumpster.

I see you're in Texas. I'm in Alabama (almost Florida) and would guess the price would be close to the same. I don't know how reliable the information but one person told me it costs the city $4-5K if they do a demolition and the city doesn't charge the property owner because it's grant money anyway. I was thinking it might cost up to $10K if I get a local contractor to do it and hope I can come in well under that of course, if that's what it comes down to.

Lumber prices being what they are, put up a sign that says "Free wood!"


A co-worker is trying to build a cabin at the moment, but they lumber prices have him stopped. I told him it might be cheaper to buy a house and have it moved there.

Hobbs

My sister was the Executive Director of the Habitat for Humanity chapter next door to the one in Enterprise for about 5 years. I just called her and she said that manpower dependent, HOH would love to go in and strip the house of usable stuff. If you need contact info info send me an email, I think she still has contacts.