Old alley garages on cracked slabs and teardown basements are the bulk of demolition digging here. A house itself needs the city's wrecking permit and a licensed wrecker.
In Minneapolis, a wrecking permit is required to demolish a house, a duplex or a commercial building, and the city requires a licensed wrecking contractor to do that work. Ask any contractor you hire for that license. Utilities must be disconnected, sewer and water services cut and capped as the city requires, and asbestos surveys and abatement handled before the building comes down. Suburbs have similar steps through their own building departments.
Most of the demolition we do on our own is garages, sheds, decks, slabs, driveways, patios and old retaining walls. Old detached garages off Minneapolis alleys often sit on thin, cracked slabs with no frost footing, and we break those out and prep the ground for a new garage. Debris is sorted where possible, with clean concrete and metal recycled and the rest hauled to a permitted site.
After a teardown, the basement is the big job. Old stone or block walls and footings are removed, and the hole is either dug out for a new, deeper basement or filled with clean material compacted in layers. On Edina, Minneapolis and St. Louis Park rebuild lots, we often do the demolition dig and the new basement excavation as one continuous job.
Demolition in Minneapolis: common questions
Is a permit needed to tear down an old detached garage?
In most Twin Cities communities, yes. The city decides based on the size of the building and the work.
Can you remove an old basement after a teardown?
Yes. We break out the walls and footings and either dig the new basement or fill and compact the hole.
What about asbestos?
Older homes often have it in siding, flooring or pipe wrap. A licensed abatement contractor must remove it before demolition.
How it works
- Free estimate: Call, text or book online. We walk the site with you.
- Written quote: Scope, equipment and price in writing.
- Utility locate & plan: We have utilities marked and plan access, haul-off and erosion control.
- Dig, grade & clean up: We complete the work, grade the site and haul away spoil.