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Best Demolition Contractors
2022

The Best Demolition Contractors
Here Are The Top Demolition Contractors
Signature Demolition Services, Inc.

Signature Demolition Services, Inc.

Signature Demolition Services, Inc. brings 50 years of combined experience in demolition services to Chicago clients. Residential demolition covers homes, garages, multi-story apartments, and interiors, and commercial demolition handles tear down services for restaurants, hospitals, offices, and schools. Signature recycles as much debris as possible from all projects and deals with utility disconnections, permits, and license applications as required.

Chicago, IL 60290

Website

Website
Get Junkin

Get Junkin

Get Junkin provides demolition services to the Chicago community and has over 15 years of experience. The group is known for quality work at affordable rates and handles demolition and debris removal for both residential as well as commercial projects. Get Junkin is licensed, bonded, and insured, does not use landfills, and recycles whenever possible. Demolition services are available for interiors, flooring, exteriors, sidewalks, pools, and walls.

Chicago, IL 60630

Website

Website
Heneghan Wrecking Company

Heneghan Wrecking Company

Heneghan Wrecking Company has been a Chicago demolition service for over 40 years. Commercial and industrial clients hire the crew for turnkey demolition services on large-scale properties, and structural demolition, interior demolition, and on-site recycling services are available. The company is licensed, bonded and insured, follows all OSHA rules and undergoes continuous training, and handles environmental remediation per EPA requirements.

Chicago, IL 60642

Website

Website
Bustouts, Inc.

Bustouts, Inc.

Bustouts, Inc. has been a Franklin Park demolition company since 1992. The family-owned group is insured, licensed, and bonded and can deal with complete demolition, excavation, and concrete services for residential, commercial, mixed use, and industrial projects. Crews deliver select demolition, asphalt and concrete saw cutting, break out and removal, concrete foundation removal, site preparation, and various concrete services including sidewalks and structural as well as decorative concrete.

Franklin Park, IL 60131

Website

Website
Midwest Wrecking Company

Midwest Wrecking Company

Midwest Wrecking Company has been providing demolition services to Chicago since 1952. The company is bonded and insured and handles total and partial demotion for homes and commercial properties as well as industrial and surgical commercial demolition. Midwest Wrecking is a Licensed General Contractor and a member of the National Demolition Contractors, the Laborers' International Union of North America, and the International Union of Operating Engineers.

Chicago, IL 60622

Website

Website
Milburn LLC

Milburn LLC

Milburn LLC is a Hillside demolition company. The group focuses on selective structural and interior demolition for general contractors, consultants, and property managers in the commercial, hospitality, healthcare, industrial, and multi-family residential sectors. Owner James Milburn is a member of the National Demolition Association and has served on its Board of Directors, as the Education Committee Chairman, and as the present Convention Chairman. The operations manager has almost 20 years of experience and has worked with Union Laborers towards higher safety standards.

Hillside, IL 60104

Website

Website
Cobra Concrete

Cobra Concrete

Cobra Concrete offers concrete cutting and core drilling services to the Chicago area. Its clientele includes homeowners, condominiums and hotels, schools, hospitals, malls, and municipalities. It uses a remote-controlled demolition robot with functionality and design that allows it to enter confined spaces to crush and excavate the debris. Cobra Concrete is a CSDA-certified contractor with over 20 years of commercial and industrial concrete cutting experience. It strives to make each project a success by producing precise cuts with the proper technology, training, and safety precautions.

Arlington Heights, IL 60005

Website

Website
Omega Demolition Corporation

Omega Demolition Corporation

Omega Demolition Corporation has been handling demolition projects in Elgin for 15 years. The company has performed over $500 million of work and specializes in complex situations with time and accessibility restraints. Services include demolition operations for high-rises to highways, site preparation, environmental services, salvage recycling, and industrial services. Omega also provides consulting and cost estimating, project planning and management, and turnkey demolition contracting partnering. Names of past clients are available upon request, and a portion of sales are donated to charity.

Elgin, IL 60120

Website

Website
Dynamic Wrecking and Excavation Inc.

Dynamic Wrecking and Excavation Inc.

Dynamic Wrecking and Excavation Inc.has been a South Holland demolition service for almost 15 years. The company has over 50 years of combined experience in the public and private sectors and handles total demolition as well as excavation. The Minority Business deals with institutional demolition, entertainment structures, industrial sites, and commercial and residential buildings and recycles 100% of debris.

South Holland, IL 60473

Website

Website
National Wrecking Company

National Wrecking Company

National Wrecking Company is an eco-friendly demolition and dismantling contractor serving the Chicago area. Its services include environmental remediation, recycling and waste management, tank decommissioning, and interior, partial, and structural demolition. The company utilizes state-of-the-art equipment such as cranes, loaders, and compressors. National Wrecking Company has completed projects for clients such as Trump World's Fair Hotel and Casino, Purdue University, and Union Stockyards. The company is a member of the National Demolition Association and the National Safety Council.

Chicago, IL 60647

Website

Website

Expert Answers To Common Questions:

  1. Introduction
  2. What is demolition?
  3. How are demolition jobs quoted?
  4. Do you need a license to do demolition?
  5. What is a demolition engineer?
  6. How do you become a demolition expert?
  7. How do you bid on demolition work?
  8. Where can you dispose of demolition waste?
  9. What is the most eco-friendly way to dispose of demolition waste?
  10. Do demolition teams use explosives?
  11. What is a demolition derby?
  12. What is a high reach and how is it used in demolition?
  13. Does demolition involve historic preservation?
  14. What is the difference between demolition and deconstruction?
  15. What is a brownfield?
  16. What is a superfund site?
  17. Are there certain requirements for commercial demolition?
  18. Where is the demolition ranch?
Q: Introduction
A:
If you’re in the process of rebuilding or renovating,  at one point you may require demolition services. You can hire demolition services for residential or commercial buildings, and no job is too big or too small. Many demolition companies also offer waste management services, so they can handle hauling away the debris, leaving you with a clean, empty space.

When hiring demolition services, you want to work with professional, reputable people. If you’re doing selective demolition (only removing one area of a building) or asbestos removal, you want to ensure a thorough and complete job is done. Review the questions and answers below so you can make a more informed decision when hiring a demolition contractor.
Q: What is demolition?
A:
Demolition is the process of knocking down property or structures to clear space on the land. The process is done safely, using science and engineering concepts to ensure an area is cleared without leaving anything dangerous around, such as exposed wires, a weak foundation, holes, etc..
Q: How are demolition jobs quoted?
A:
Typically, demolition jobs are quoted based on the square footage of the building. The national average for commercial demolition ranges between $4-$8 per square foot. The price per square foot typically goes down as the total square footage rises. This pricing doesn’t include additional services, such as waste management.

Q: Do you need a license to do demolition?
A:
Demolition requirements vary by state, county, and local municipality. Depending on your location, some companies will be required to have a license. Additionally, some areas require individual demolition permits or licenses to be pulled for each job site on behalf of the client.
Q: What is a demolition engineer?
A:
A demolition engineer is a specialist in clearing areas safely without endangering people, nearby objects, the land, or the remaining building. They may use explosives to demolish buildings, identify how to open a new area for mining, and understand how to remove large obstacles in construction areas. Most demolition engineers are high school graduates who learned their skills on the job.
Q: How do you become a demolition expert?
A:
Most demolition experts are trained on the job, typically by following an experienced professional for a couple of months to a year. Some individuals may choose to complete training provided by vocational schools, contractor associations, or labor unions. However, in this profession, hands-on experience is the most valuable.
Q: How do you bid on demolition work?
A:
There are two options for bidding on demolition work. First, you can work under a parent company that does the bidding for you and gives you regular contracts while taking a small cut. Otherwise, you can be an individual contractor, find your local bidding sites, and place  individual bids. Demolition projects always go to the lowest bidder.
Q: Where can you dispose of demolition waste?
A:
How you dispose of the demolition waste depends on the kind of waste you have. Some of it may go to the dump, while hazardous materials will have require special handling. If you don’t want to deal with disposing of demolition waste, your demolition contractor may offer to provide waste management services.
Q: What is the most eco-friendly way to dispose of demolition waste?
A:
The most eco-friendly way to dispose of demolition waste is to repurpose and recycle whatever you can, so as little goes to the landfill as possible. You can hire a demolition contractor who specializes in eco-friendly waste management, and they will help you donate or relocate waste in a sustainable way.
Q: Do demolition teams use explosives?
A:
Yes, for large buildings, a demolition team may use explosives. Using explosives in demolition may seem messy to the inexperienced. In fact, explosive-based demolition is known as “controlled demolition” because it offers a strategic, contained way to collapse a structure or section of a structure. Controlled demolition is most often used for tall buildings, chimney stacks, cooling towers, and bridges.

Q: What is a demolition derby?
A:
A demolition derby is a competition where five or more drivers in old cars purposely drive into each other until one car is still moving. Demolition derbies typically take place at festivals and country fairs using very old cars that don’t have much life left in them.
Q: What is a high reach and how is it used in demolition?
A:
Demolition with a high reach arm is an alternative to using explosives. This method is typically used for reaching a portion of a building that's 66 feet or taller. This type of demolition uses a base machine with a long arm to do the demolishing.
Q: Does demolition involve historic preservation?
A:
Protected historic properties can't legally be demolished. However, historic buildings are often deconstructed while preserving their bones. Controlled demolition services can be used at historic sites to remove one area, allowing the majority of the historic structure to remain intact. For example, an area may need to be demolished due to asbestos before it spreads elsewhere.
Q: What is the difference between demolition and deconstruction?
A:
The goal of a demolition is to simply take down a structure and clear the area. Conversely, deconstruction is a much more careful process because the materials are saved for reuse. A deconstruction project will take longer, as each area is examined to locate materials that can be saved for future use.
Q: What is a brownfield?
A:
A brownfield is land with contaminated soil that's unsafe to rebuild on without remediation. This type of land may be the site of an abandoned oil refinery or an old gas station. To restore a brownfield, the area needs to be cleared and all of the contaminated soil removed. Demolition companies often offer services to help with brownfields.
Q: What is a superfund site?
A:
The United States' Superfund law is a program that looks to identify and clean up areas with hazardous materials. Currently, there are over 40,000 superfund sites across the United States. Almost 70% of the cleanup costs on these sites has been paid for by the party that caused the land damage.
Q: Are there certain requirements for commercial demolition?
A:
Yes, thanks to The Clean Air Act and the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NSHAP), sites that are registering a certain amount of asbestos must be reported before demolition. Before demolition can start, a plan may need to be presented on how the material will be safely dealt with.
Q: Where is the demolition ranch?
A:
Youtube sensation Matt Carriker has over 17 million subscribers and three channels that operate under the name “Demo Ranch” or “Demolition Ranch.”  His demo ranch is located in Texas, where he makes firearm videos for his audience.