Demolition in Kew

Check the overlay before you plan anything

The single most important step for a Kew demolition is establishing what overlays affect your address. Heritage Overlays are widespread across the suburb, and where one applies a planning permit is required before demolition is approved — on top of the building permit and Section 29A council consent that every Victorian demolition needs. A Heritage Overlay can also mean demolition is only approved on the condition that a facade or a significant part of the building is retained. Finding this out after you have set a program is an expensive way to learn it, so we confirm the position during quoting.

Heritage-sensitive and partial demolition

Where a period frontage must stay, the job becomes a partial demolition: the retained facade is propped and braced, the structure behind it is removed in a controlled sequence, and the frontage is kept stable and safe throughout. This is specialist work that costs more than a clean full demolition and needs the planning approvals confirmed first. It is also exactly the kind of job we are set up for — careful, staged, and respectful of what the overlay is there to protect.

Salvage worth recovering

Kew's period homes frequently contain materials genuinely worth saving — hardwood framing and flooring, tessellated tiles, leadlight, original joinery and solid period brick. Salvage is a careful strip-out done before machine work, not something retrofitted once an excavator is on site, so it needs to be agreed at quoting stage. Tell us what you want recovered and we build it into the program.

Asbestos in older Kew stock

Even the grandest older home built before 1990 should be assumed to contain asbestos somewhere — eaves, wet-area sheeting, flues and fencing are the usual locations, and outbuildings are often worse than the house. Licensed removalists clear it before general demolition, and disposal goes to an EPA-approved facility with documentation provided.

Access on premium blocks

Many Kew properties combine a substantial full-brick home with mature gardens, established trees and, sometimes, tight or shared access behind established boundaries. Machine selection, tree protection and dust control all matter more here. We assess all of it at inspection so the approach and the fixed price reflect the actual site, not an average.

An honest read on your project

Not every Kew home will be approved for demolition, and we would rather tell you at inspection that your address looks difficult than take a deposit and discover it at the permit stage.