How to Read a Melbourne Demolition Quote

Three demolition quotes on the same Melbourne house will routinely land thousands of dollars apart. That spread is almost never because one contractor is greedy and another is generous. It is because the three quotes describe three different jobs, and the differences are in what is left out rather than what is written down.

Here is how to read them so you are comparing the same work.

Start with what is being removed

The first line to check is the scope of the structure itself. A quote for the house is not necessarily a quote for the garage, the carport, the shed, the pergola, the front fence, or the old pool.

Then check below ground level. Is the slab included? Are footings included? Is the driveway included? Slab and driveway removal is a substantial volume of concrete to break out and cart away, and it is the single most common item to appear in one quote and not another. If your builder needs a completely clear site, a quote that leaves the slab is not cheaper, it is incomplete.

Ask specifically about the extent of the site clear. Some quotes finish at the point where the structure is gone; others include removing the material, backfilling voids, and leaving the block level and safe.

Then check what is assumed about asbestos

This is where the biggest number moves. A quote that excludes asbestos entirely, or prices it as a provisional sum with an unstated basis, is not a fixed price.

The right sequence is to have an asbestos assessment done first and give every contractor the same report to price against. Then all three quotes are pricing the same known quantity, and the comparison means something. Without it you are comparing one contractor's optimism against another's caution.

Watch specifically for how the quote handles what is found beyond the report. Buried fibro sheeting in the yard and asbestos under a later floor covering are genuinely hard to predict, so an honest quote states a rate for additional material rather than pretending it cannot happen.

Approvals and consents

Who is lodging the paperwork, and is it priced? A demolition in Victoria commonly needs a building permit, and in many cases a report and consent from council under Section 29A before that permit can issue. That consent process takes time and it is a task somebody has to do.

Some contractors include approvals in the quote and manage the whole thing. Others quote demolition only and leave the homeowner to arrange a building surveyor and the council consent themselves. Both are legitimate positions. A quote that simply does not mention approvals is the problem, because that silence usually resolves into a variation later.

Service disconnections

Same question. Power, gas, water, and telecommunications all need abolishing before demolition, and every one of those requests sits in a utility queue.

Confirm whether the contractor initiates and tracks these, or whether they expect the abolishment certificates handed to them before they will mobilise. This is not usually a large cost item but it is a large time item, and a contractor who takes it on is saving you weeks of your own project.

Access, machines and truck movements

Two quotes on a narrow inner-north block can differ mainly because one contractor has looked at the access and the other has not. If the only way in is past the side of the house, or the street will not take a large truck, the job needs smaller machines and more movements, and it takes longer.

Look for a quote that mentions how the site will be accessed. Its presence means someone has actually assessed the property rather than pricing from a photo. Where access genuinely constrains machine choice, that constraint should be visible in the quote.

Related, ask about traffic management and any permits for occupying the road or footpath. On a tight street this can be a real line item, and it is rarely the first thing quoted.

Where the material goes

Disposal is a significant share of demolition cost, and it is charged by weight at licensed facilities. A quote with an unusually low disposal component either assumes less material than is really there, or assumes it is going somewhere cheaper than it should.

Ask what is being separated for recycling and where the residual waste is going. Contractors who sort concrete, brick, metal, and clean timber are usually cheaper on disposal and can say precisely where each stream ends up. It is also a reasonable proxy for how the business operates generally.

Insurance, and the question worth asking last

Confirm current public liability cover and workers compensation, and confirm the amount. Demolition sits next to other people's houses, and on close Melbourne blocks the risk is to structures you do not own.

Then ask the question that sorts the quotes fastest: what is specifically excluded from this price? A contractor who answers precisely — naming the slab, the asbestos beyond the report, the tree, the traffic permit — is telling you the quote is real. A contractor who says nothing is excluded is either not thinking about the job or not telling you about it.

The practical approach

Get the asbestos assessment first. Write down your scope once, including outbuildings, slab, driveway, and the final condition you want the site left in. Give that same scope to every contractor. Then read the three quotes for exclusions rather than for the total.

Nine times out of ten the cheapest quote becomes mid-priced once the missing items are added back, and the decision turns out to be about which contractor understood the site rather than which one was cheapest.