For demolition contractors
Quoting for demolition contractors
Demolition is quoted as a job: knock down this house, strip out this kitchen, take away this shed. The slab, the driveway, the trees and the tip runs are the parts that move, and two demolition quotes rarely include the same ones. Quote Desk puts each part on its own line, so the customer compares what is included rather than the bottom number.
Quote from Cassowary Demolition
Knock-down for a rebuild
| Demolish house, 160 m² floor area | $8,800.00 |
| Garage slab and driveway removal | $2,008.00 |
| Tree removal, marked on site | $650.00 |
| Site clean and level | $450.00 |
| Total | $11,908.00 |
Forwarded to the owners. Accepted after the second reminder.
What gets in the way for demolition contractors
Lump sums that hide the exclusions
One quote includes the slab and the trees, another leaves them out, and the customer picks the cheaper. Lines for the house, the slab, the driveway and the trees make the comparison fair.
What is in the walls
Older buildings can hold material that has to be dealt with before the machine goes in, often by someone else. The note is where you say what your price assumes and what happens if something else turns up.
Disconnections and approvals come first
Power, gas, water and sewer have to be off before the machine starts, and someone has to sort out any approvals. Say in the note who arranges each, so the start date does not slip waiting on a task nobody owned.
Tip runs by the load
Mixed waste, clean concrete and green waste go to different places at different rates. Pricing the slab and the driveway by the square metre, with disposal built in, keeps the tip runs on the quote and out of your margin.
A worked example
Demolition contractor work, with Quote Desk
Picture a fictional demolition crew, Cassowary Demolition, with a 13 tonne excavator and two tippers. Price list: house demolition, timber frame, single storey $55 per square metre of floor area; slab removal $28 per square metre; driveway removal $25 per square metre; site clean and level $450 each; kitchen and bathroom strip-out $1,200 a day; skip bin $520 each.
A builder forwards an email for a knock-down and rebuild: a 160 square metre weatherboard house, a 36 square metre garage slab, 40 square metres of concrete driveway and one tree in the way of the new footprint. Quote this: house demolition x160, slab removal x36, driveway removal x40, a typed-in line for the tree at $650, site clean x1. The note says the price includes GST; it covers the house, the garage slab, the driveway and the tree marked on site; power, gas, water and sewer are disconnected by the owner before the start; any approvals sit with the owner and their builder; the price is based on the survey report the owner supplied, and anything found that is not in it stops work and is quoted separately; the site is left level and clean. Total $11,908. He presses Follow up automatically. The builder forwards the email to the owners, who accept it after the second reminder.
A renovator wants a kitchen and bathroom stripped out instead. That quote is two lines, strip-out x1 and skip bin x1. Total $1,720.
Talk of the Trade
Demolition contractors on Talk of the Trade
Talk of the Trade ranks demolition contractors by how many Google reviews they have. Figures as of October 2026.
See the demolition contractors on Talk of the Trade. Being listed there has nothing to do with using Quote Desk: no listing is sold and no rank changes.
Questions from demolition contractors
Can I quote a demolition as one price?
Yes, as one typed-in line, but lines for the house, the slab, the driveway and the trees are easier for the customer to compare and harder to dispute. Up to twenty lines fit on a quote.
How do I handle material that needs a specialist?
Say in the note what your price is based on and that anything found outside it is quoted separately, by you or by others. Quote Desk checks nothing against the rules for your work: check the licence requirements in your state.
The owner and the builder both need to see it. Who gets the quote?
One customer email per quote. Send it to whoever is paying; they can forward it, and the accept link works for whoever opens it.
How many demolition contractors are on Talk of the Trade?
As of October 2026 the directory has 45 ranked lists of demolition contractors, with 360 businesses listed in New South Wales, 197 in Victoria and 169 in Queensland. Quote Desk has no bearing on those listings.
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