Good preparation keeps a demolition project from reaching the scheduled start with live utilities, unclear boundaries or nowhere to put the trucks. This checklist is for owners planning professional demolition of a house, mobile home, shed or garage—not for dismantling a building yourself.
1. Confirm Who Can Authorize the Work
Resolve ownership and any estate, lender, insurer, landowner or community requirements that affect authorization. Tell the contractor if more than one party must approve the scope. Do this before establishing a demolition date.
2. Mark What Stays and What Goes
Use a plan or annotated photos to identify structures, concrete, driveways, fences, trees and fixtures to retain. Discuss uncertain property lines with an appropriate professional. A fence is not proof of the legal boundary.
3. Define the Intended Final Use
Tell the contractor whether the area becomes lawn, an open lot, a driveway or a future building. That decision affects removal depth, retained features, fill and grading. Demolition and a future construction-ready pad should not be treated as interchangeable scopes.
4. Resolve Permits and Review Requirements
Confirm the governing city or county and the approvals that apply to the property. Historic review, flood conditions and work affecting public areas may add steps. Norfolk publishes a demolition process guide; Virginia Beach lists its residential building and demolition applications. Use current local instructions for the actual project.
5. Arrange Required Material Evaluation
Ask who determines inspection and notification requirements before materials are disturbed. Virginia DOLI explains that demolition notification depends on whether the structure falls within the applicable rules; some residential projects are exempt. Do not decide applicability from the building’s age alone. Consult the state demolition and asbestos guidance and qualified professionals.
6. Complete Utility Disconnection Planning
Identify electrical, gas, water, sewer or septic and communication services. Agree who contacts providers and qualified trades, obtains any required confirmations and addresses caps or terminations. Do not cut lines, remove meters or assume a vacant building has no live services.
7. Identify Underground and Private Lines
Follow the applicable utility locating process before excavation or demolition. Virginia 811 distinguishes public and private utility lines; private services may need separate locating. Locating lines and disconnecting them are separate tasks. Tell the contractor about irrigation, outbuilding feeds and other owner-installed systems.
8. Agree on Access and Site Protection
Discuss gates, overhead clearance, parked vehicles, truck turning and staging. Determine whether temporary access changes or public-area permissions are needed. Arrange safe removal of belongings only where entry is safe; leave unstable structures and suspect materials to the appropriate professionals.
9. Plan Debris and Unexpected Conditions
State which contents and debris the contractor accepts and which need separate handling. Identify known tanks, wells, dumping or buried remnants. Establish a contact and written approval process for discoveries rather than allowing unknown work to expand without a decision.
10. Confirm the Handoff and Keep the Area Clear
Agree on foundation removal, fill, compaction, grading and stabilization. Keep children, pets, occupants and visitors outside the contractor’s work area. Before completion, review the site against the written scope and obtain the agreed inspection or disposal documentation.
What Should I Send Before the Site Visit?
- The address, structure type and approximate size.
- Photos taken safely from outside, including the access route.
- Utility status, known hazards and available property documents.
- A list of features to protect and anything that must remain.
- Your preferred timing and the intended use after removal.
Use our demolition estimate checklist to assign responsibilities and our permit planning guide for the approval questions to raise.
Request a Demolition Estimate in Hampton Roads
First Phase Siteworks is an owner-operated business serving Hampton Roads. Review our demolition services, request a site-specific estimate, or call (757) 239-0707. Include the property address, safe exterior photos, approximate dimensions, access restrictions and the finished result you want.