Selective & Industrial Demolition
Demolition Bids Fail on What's in the Walls
The demolition line item is rarely what blows a budget — it's the asbestos nobody surveyed, the lead paint in the debris stream, and the change orders that follow. iSi runs interior selective and structural demolition with abatement capability on the same crew, so the survey, the removal, and the demo happen in one sequence. Fixed pricing against a written scope, quotes in under 30 minutes.
What We Demolish
From single-suite interior strip-outs to structural takedowns and full facility decommissioning — sequenced around the regulated materials most demo bids ignore. Commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings; occupied and vacant; renovation packages and standalone teardowns.
Interior Selective Demolition
Walls, ceilings, flooring, casework, and MEP systems removed while the structure — and often adjacent occupied space — stays intact and protected. The bread-and-butter scope for commercial renovation.
Structural Demolition
Full and partial structure takedowns with utility isolation, engineered sequencing, and site restoration. Pre-demolition survey coordination built into every bid.
Combined Abatement + Demolition
Asbestos and lead removal and demolition on one contract — one mobilization, one containment sequence, no handoff gap between contractors.
Facility Decommissioning
Equipment removal, tank and line cleanout, decontamination, and selective demolition to take an industrial facility to a documented end state for sale, repurposing, or teardown.
Demolition Debris Disposal
Debris streams separated during the work, characterized under RCRA (40 CFR Part 261), and disposed with documentation — because generator responsibility stays with the facility owner.
Pre-Demolition Survey Coordination
The NESHAP inspection obligation (40 CFR 61.145) scoped and scheduled before mobilization, so regulated materials are found on the survey — not mid-swing.
How an iSi Demolition Project Runs
Demolition change orders are rarely about demolition. They're about what nobody checked before mobilization — the survey that wasn't done, the utility that wasn't isolated, the debris stream nobody characterized until the landfill asked questions. The sequence below is how we keep a fixed price fixed:
If conditions vary from the scope mid-project — hidden materials, undocumented structure, live utilities where the drawings said dead — work stops, the variance is documented, and a change order is priced before continuation. That discipline is what makes a fixed-price demolition bid mean something.
What Separates a Clean Demo Job from a Change-Order Machine
The pre-demolition survey is not optional
Under 40 CFR 61.145, the facility must be thoroughly inspected for asbestos before demolition — the inspection obligation applies to demolitions regardless of building age. Full NESHAP requirements engage at 260 linear feet on pipes, 160 square feet on other components, or 35 cubic feet off facility components. The detail that saves owners real money: Category I non-friable ACM in good condition — vinyl floor tile, asphalt roofing, gaskets — does not have to be removed before demolition. A competent survey read frequently eliminates a large share of perceived abatement scope. The penalty for getting this wrong runs $124,426 per day per violation (40 CFR 19.4, 2026 — frozen at 2025 levels). That is why every iSi demolition bid starts from the survey, not from the square footage.
Structural demolition contractor vs. demo-with-a-skid-steer
Selective demolition is precision work: protecting what stays, isolating utilities live to adjacent tenants, and understanding which walls are holding something up. Structural demolition adds engineered sequencing and site controls. The failure mode we get called in to fix is the same in both — a low bid from a crew that treats demolition as loading debris, then discovers regulated material, live utilities, or a bearing wall on day two.
Why abatement + demolition under one contractor changes the math
On a typical renovation-demo, the sequence is: survey, abate, clear, demolish. When those are two contractors, each transition is a mobilization, a schedule gap, and an argument about whose containment failed. iSi self-performs both scopes in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas — one crew builds one containment strategy that serves the abatement and the demolition behind it. In our four-state footprint, genuinely self-performing both sides of that line is rare, and it is the single biggest schedule lever on regulated-material demo projects. It's the same integrated model as our broader industrial services division.
Demolition debris is a waste-characterization problem
Before debris leaves the site, someone owns the RCRA question: is any stream hazardous under 40 CFR Part 261? Most construction and demolition debris is not — but lead-painted steel, treated lumber, mercury switches and lamps, and process-contaminated concrete can flip a stream, and the generator (the facility owner, not the hauler) keeps cradle-to-grave responsibility. iSi separates streams during the work, characterizes them, and hands over disposal documentation at closeout instead of a single commingled tipping receipt.
Decommissioning is demolition plus everything demolition assumes
A facility decommissioning is where every thread on this page converges: equipment and process lines still holding residues, tanks that need cleanout before anything is cut, regulated materials in the structure, and an owner who needs a documented end state — for a buyer, a lender, or the next use of the site. Run as separate subcontracts, each interface is a schedule gap and a liability argument. iSi scopes decommissioning as one project: cleanout, abatement where required, selective demolition, debris characterization, and a closeout file that proves what condition the facility was left in. The deliverable isn't an empty building — it's an empty building you can document.
What a fixed-price demolition bid actually commits to
Typical iSi industrial-services projects run $8,000–$200,000+; our median demolition pricing is fixed against a written scope — from small interior strip-outs through structural packages — quoted in under 30 minutes. Every bid is fixed-price against a written scope: what comes out, what stays and gets protected, how debris is characterized and disposed, and what is excluded (permits, utility disconnects, third-party monitoring). If conditions vary from scope mid-project, work stops and a change order is priced before continuation — the discipline that keeps a fixed price fixed.
Demolition Questions
Is an asbestos survey required before demolition?
Yes. The asbestos NESHAP (40 CFR 61.145) requires the facility to be thoroughly inspected before demolition begins. Full NESHAP requirements apply at 260 LF on pipes, 160 SF on other components, or 35 CF off facility components. Category I non-friable ACM in good condition does not have to be removed before demolition — which a competent survey uses to cut perceived scope. The federal penalty runs $124,426 per day per violation (40 CFR 19.4, 2026 — frozen at 2025 levels).
What is selective demolition?
Removal of specific building elements — interior walls, ceilings, flooring, MEP, equipment — while protecting the structure and adjacent spaces that stay. Most commercial renovation projects are selective demolition jobs: precision sequencing, temporary protection, utility isolation, and clean debris separation.
How is demolition debris characterized and disposed?
Debris must be characterized under RCRA (40 CFR Part 261) before disposal. Most C&D debris is non-hazardous, but lead-painted components, treated wood, mercury devices, and process-contaminated materials can change the answer. iSi separates, characterizes, and documents disposal — the owner keeps generator responsibility regardless of who hauls.
Can one contractor handle both abatement and demolition?
Yes — and it is usually cheaper and faster. One firm means one mobilization, one containment strategy, and no schedule gap between removal and demolition. iSi self-performs both in KS, MO, OK, and TX and prices the combined scope as one fixed bid.
What does demolition cost?
Every bid is fixed-price against a written scope — small interior strip-outs through structural packages — with a quote in under 30 minutes once scope details are in hand. Every bid is fixed-price and returned in under 30 minutes once scope details are in hand.
What is facility decommissioning?
Taking a facility from operating condition to a documented end state — equipment removal, tank and line cleanout, decontamination, regulated material abatement, selective demolition, and closeout documentation — run as one scoped project rather than a chain of subcontracts.
Demolition in These Markets
One Survey. One Crew. One Fixed Number.
Send us the scope — square footage, what's coming out, building age — and get a fixed-price demolition bid in under 30 minutes. We Plug In. You Level Up.
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