Quote to Clear Block: A Realistic Demolition Timeline

People are consistently surprised by demolition timelines in the same direction: they expect the whole thing to take about as long as the machine work does. The machine work is the short part.

A realistic sequence

**Week 0 — quote and inspection.** Someone walks the site, measures access, looks at what is likely under the ground and identifies suspect materials. You get a scope, not just a number.

**Week 1 — everything slow gets lodged.** Service abolishment applications for electricity, gas, water and telecoms. Section 29A application to council. Asbestos assessment booked. All in parallel — none of these waits on the others, and every day of delay here is a day added to the end.

**Weeks 2–6 — waiting, mostly.** The council assesses. The distributors schedule. The assessor reports and the removal scope firms up. This is the stretch where nothing appears to be happening and the program is actually being decided.

**Weeks 4–8 — consents and permits land.** Section 29A consent issued, building surveyor issues the demolition permit, asset protection permit obtained, protection work notices served where an adjoining property is affected.

**Weeks 6–10 — services abolished.** Certificates issued. This is usually the last gate.

**Then — asbestos removal.** A day or two for a garage roof and eaves. Longer with friable material, air monitoring and a clearance certificate.

**Then — demolition.** Two to four days on site for a single-storey house with reasonable access, three to six for a double-storey, longer where access is tight or there is substantial below-ground work.

**Finally — clearing and levelling.** Grubbing out footings and slab, removing surplus spoil, levelling and compacting, final clean-up.

Where it goes wrong

**Applications lodged late or sequentially.** The single most common cause. The council application and the abolishments are independent — running them one after another can add a month for no reason.

**An overlay discovered late.** If a heritage or character overlay applies and a planning permit is required, the program changes from weeks to months. Check this before you sign a build contract.

**Asbestos assessed too late.** If it is scoped after the permit lands, the removal has to be squeezed in at the end and the machines wait.

**Distributor scheduling.** Sometimes it just takes what it takes, particularly over summer.

What can actually be compressed

Not much, honestly. Machine time can move. Asbestos removal can occasionally be brought forward. Council and distributor timelines cannot be shortened by pressure — only by having started earlier.

Which is the whole point: the total duration of a demolition project is set almost entirely by decisions made in the first week.

For a knockdown-rebuild

Work backwards from your builder's start date and add contingency. If your builder needs a clear block on 1 November, the applications want to be in around August. Any later and you are relying on every council officer and distributor scheduler in the chain having a good month.