Demolition
Demolition Contractor: Houses, Garages & Commercial
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Fast, easy, no obligation. Firm written price after a site walk.
Princeton Excavation is a demolition contractor for the Princeton area: whole houses, detached and attached garages, interior gut-outs, commercial buildings, and the backyard jobs, from sheds and decks to patios and hot tubs. We take the structure down, sort and haul the debris, pull the footings, and leave the site backfilled and graded for whatever comes next.
What we take down
Every demolition starts the same way: permit in hand, utilities disconnected and capped, and the NJ One Call 811 markout called in. Then the right machine for the structure.
Whole Structures
Houses, garages, and commercial buildings come down with the excavator, get sorted as they're loaded (metal, wood, concrete), and leave by the truckload. Foundations and footings come out too, unless you're building back on them.
Interior Demolition
Gut-outs ahead of a renovation: drywall, flooring, fixtures, cabinetry, and non-structural walls stripped back and carried out, with the parts of the building you're keeping protected.
Backyard Removals
Sheds, decks, patios, walkways, hot tubs, and above-ground pools. A tracked skid steer fits through a standard gate, so small structures come out without cutting the fence apart. Inground pools have their own page.
Removed like it was never there
The teardown is the fast part. What separates a good demolition from a cheap one is what's left behind: footings pulled instead of buried, debris actually gone instead of pushed into the soil, and the hole backfilled in compacted lifts and graded so it doesn't show up as a dip two winters later.
Where we work
We work across Princeton and the surrounding Mercer, Middlesex, and Somerset County towns, from a detached garage behind a house in Princeton to a teardown lot in West Windsor. The excavator does the breaking, the skid steer loads and cleans up, and debris leaves in the dump truck or a roll-off container sized to the job.
What we protect
Neighbors, driveways, and the trees you're keeping get protected. We set the work zone before the first wall comes down, keep dust and debris on the lot, and leave the street the way we found it.
What demolition costs
Typical New Jersey ranges, for budgeting only: detached garages about $4 to $10 per square foot, attached garages toward the top of that range, and whole houses about $4 to $10 per square foot, or roughly $6,000 to $25,000 for most homes. Sheds usually run $500 to $2,500 removed and hauled.
Disposal is most of the bill. The number of truckloads, how much concrete and foundation comes out, whether the basement needs clean fill, and how close the equipment can get all shift the total, and abatement of regulated materials is priced separately. A site walk lets us count the loads, which is how we can commit to one firm written price.
How a job goes
From the first call to a clean handover
Site Walk
We come look at the property by appointment, check the access and any constraints, and go over your plans or what you have in mind.
Marking & Layout
We set the layout on the ground with laser accuracy. Depths, lines, and elevations are marked before anything gets dug.
The Work
We bring the right machine for the access, lay ground protection where it's needed, and keep the mess around lawns, trees, and hardscape to a minimum.
Clean Handover
You're left with a site that's ready to go and a yard that's still in one piece, set up for whatever's next.
Frequently Asked Questions
As a market range, not a quote: detached garage demolition commonly runs $4 to $10 per square foot, about $2,300 to $3,500 for a typical 24-by-24 two-car garage with haul-off. Attached garages cost more, because the wall shared with the house has to be protected and closed up. We price yours firm after a site visit.
Typical ranges run $4 to $10 per square foot, roughly $6,000 to $25,000 for most homes, and more when asbestos or lead has to be abated first. Basement backfill, foundation removal, access, and disposal move the number. Commercial buildings are priced per square foot the same way, after a walkthrough.
For houses, garages, and commercial buildings, yes: your town's construction office issues the demolition permit and wants proof that gas, electric, water, and sewer are disconnected. Small sheds and decks can be simpler depending on the town. We tell you what your municipality asks for during the site visit.
Older siding, roofing, flooring, and pipe wrap can contain asbestos, and commercial buildings need an inspection before demolition. Removing it is a licensed abatement contractor's job: it's tested, removed, and cleared first, and then we take the structure down.
Yes. Pool fill-ins and full removals have their own page, covering how we break the shell and compact the fill so the ground doesn't sink later.
Service Areas
- PrincetonMercer County
- Hopewell TownshipMercer County
- Montgomery & SkillmanSomerset County
- West WindsorMercer County
- Lawrence TownshipMercer County
- PenningtonMercer County
- RobbinsvilleMercer County
- Hamilton TownshipMercer County
- PlainsboroMiddlesex County
- CranburyMiddlesex County
- South BrunswickMiddlesex County
- HillsboroughSomerset County
- EwingMercer County
Princeton, Hopewell Township, Montgomery & Skillman, and surrounding Mercer and Somerset County, NJ.
Got something that needs to come down? Tell us what it is and we'll quote the demolition.
Owner-operated and by appointment. Tell us about your project and we'll walk the site with you.
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