House demolition · Palm Beach County
House demolition in Palm Beach County
In unincorporated Palm Beach County, a house rarely comes down alone. The county’s procedure takes the sheds and outbuildings with it, fills or removes the pool, and abandons the septic tank before the inspector signs off to start.
PPM PB-O-110 sets the order. Gas, water, sewer, telephone, cable and electric are verified off before the pre-demolition inspection, which checks the posted permit, the septic abandonment and the pool. Every accessory structure goes with the house unless the Building Official approves otherwise before the permit issues.
The empty lot has rules too. In the county’s Urban/Suburban Tier, a teardown with no redevelopment permit is reviewed for “significant degradation” of the neighborhood. If staff find it, the owner files a landscape plan for the lot or an affidavit that redevelopment will be applied for within 120 days.
Many teardowns begin as a flood decision. When repair or improvement reaches 50% of a building’s market value, it must be brought into compliance with flood rules, which in practice usually means elevation. Section 553.79(25), Florida Statutes, bars local governments from blocking a code-compliant single-family demolition in a flood zone, with limited exceptions.
Send the survey and photos of the house, the pool and any outbuildings. We will walk the lot and price the teardown.
Sequence
- Walk the lot and list every structure, the pool and the septic system.
- Arrange disconnects through FPL, the gas supplier and the water utility.
- File the septic abandonment through the Health Department where the lot is on septic.
- Break out and fill the pool bottom, or remove the pool.
- Pass the pre-demolition inspection, then demolish and haul to SWA-permitted facilities.
- Grade the lot and meet any landscape or 120-day affidavit condition.
The usual problems
What tends to go wrong, and how it is handled
The inspector will not sign off
A pre-demolition inspection can fail on a single item: a live meter, an open septic tank, or a pool still holding water. We check each one against the PB-O-110 list before calling for inspection.
An outbuilding left standing
Under PB-O-110, sheds, detached garages and cabanas go with a whole-house demolition unless the Building Official agrees otherwise. We put every structure on the site plan.
A vacant lot that draws Code Enforcement
A missed 120-day redevelopment deadline is reported to Code Enforcement. At quote stage we tell you whether your lot sits in the Urban/Suburban Tier where the rule can apply.
A wrong guess on asbestos
A single-family house is usually outside the health department’s notice rule, but not if it was ever used commercially. Where the history is unclear, we arrange a licensed survey.
Outside our license
Septic abandonment, utility disconnects and tree removal are separate licensed work we coordinate. The 50% determination is made by the building department, not by us. The rules above are for unincorporated Palm Beach County; your city’s department sets its own.
Questions
About house demolition
Do I have to remove the pool when I demolish the house?
In unincorporated Palm Beach County, PB-O-110 requires the pool bottom to be broken out and filled with earth, or the pool removed, before the pre-demolition inspection passes. Which option fits depends on what you will build. Cities write their own rules, so confirm with the building department for your address.
Can my city stop me from tearing down a house in a flood zone?
Section 553.79(25), Florida Statutes, enacted in 2022, bars local governments from prohibiting or restricting a code-compliant demolition permit for a single-family home in a flood zone or coastal high-hazard area, with limited exceptions, and keeps the review administrative. In the Town of Palm Beach, the zoning director told the landmarks commission in 2022 that the flood hazard areas named in the law cover the entire town.
What does a demolition cost, and what moves the number?
We do not publish prices, because the number depends on what surrounds the building. The main drivers are structure type and size, asbestos findings, truck access, the permit and utility requirements for the address, any below-grade work, and the haul to SWA-permitted facilities. Local rules move it too: the Town of Palm Beach requires a bond of the demolition cost plus 35%. Send the survey and photos, and we will price it.
Do you quote demolition of any size?
Yes. Size never rules a job out: we price everything from a single shed or an interior strip-out to a commercial site or a concrete tower. Every job is priced from the same questions: which department issues the permit, what the asbestos rules require, which utility releases are needed, and in what sequence the structure comes down. Send what you have, and we will say what else we need.
Is Romco licensed, and who does the specialty work?
Romco Builders is a licensed Florida general contractor. We self-perform demolition, dewatering, Support of Excavation and deep foundations. Asbestos surveys come from independent licensed consultants and removal from licensed abatement firms. Utility disconnects, tree removal, electrical, plumbing, fire sprinkler work and engineering go to the licensed parties for those trades, and we coordinate them under one schedule.
Order of work
From first call to closed permit
Call or send the form
Give the address, what is coming down and anything that must be protected. Photos or a survey help.
Walk the property
We check the structure, live services, truck access, trees, the seawall or neighbor close by, and any association rules.
Scope and price in writing
Removal, protection, haul-off and anything that depends on the asbestos survey are listed line by line.
Notices, letters and permit
The licensed asbestos survey and any health department notice, the utility releases, then the application to the right building office.
Take it down and haul it out
Work runs in the agreed order. Loads go to Solid Waste Authority–permitted facilities, or the hauler your city requires.
Final inspection and close-out
The inspector signs off and the permit closes. You keep a graded lot or the shell you asked for.
House demolition throughout Palm Beach, including West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Palm Beach (the Town), Jupiter, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Wellington, Lake Worth Beach, Unincorporated Palm Beach County, and every other Palm Beach city.
More demolition
Other demolition we quote
- Interior demolitionStrip-outs inside condos, offices and stores, with the asbestos question settled first.Interior demolition in Palm Beach →
- Selective demolitionOne wing, one floor or one wall removed while the rest of the building stays in use.Selective demolition in Palm Beach →
- Commercial demolitionStores, offices, warehouses and plazas, taken down once the releases are in hand.Commercial demolition in Palm Beach →
- Structural demolitionConcrete towers, parking garages and steel frames, taken down in engineered sequence.Structural demolition in Palm Beach →
- Concrete removalSlabs, driveways, patios, walks and footings, broken out after the locates are in.Concrete removal in Palm Beach →
- Pool removalBottom broken out and filled, or the shell, deck and equipment removed entirely.Pool removal in Palm Beach →
- Mobile home demolitionSingle units or several in one park, with approvals and permits in order first.Mobile home demolition in Palm Beach →
- Storm damage demolitionTaking down what a hurricane or tornado left unsafe, once the adjuster has seen it.Storm damage demolition in Palm Beach →
- Site clearingBrush, stumps, buried slabs and old fill cleared once the vegetation permits are in.Site clearing in Palm Beach →
- Asbestos coordinationLicensed survey, health department notice and licensed abatement, in the right order.Asbestos coordination in Palm Beach →
- Accessory structure demolitionSheds, detached garages, cabanas, carports, barns and signs, one or several.Accessory structure demolition in Palm Beach →
- Something else?Every type of demolition is quoted, whatever the size. If your job is missing above, describe it on the phone.Call (561) 273-9189 →
Every type, every size, all of Palm Beach County
Tell us the address and the scope. We will put a number on it.
Romco Builders is a licensed Florida general contractor, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale. A single wall or a whole building, each quote arrives as a written scope with a price.