Selective demolition · Palm Beach County
Selective demolition in Palm Beach County
Taking part of a building down is harder than taking all of it. The piece that stays has to stand, keep its weather line, and pass inspection. Unincorporated Palm Beach County treats partial demolition as an alteration.
PPM PB-O-110 asks for a site plan that marks the limits of demolition and requires the work to end in a structurally complete, permanent building. Partial and interior demolition get a full technical review, where a whole one- or two-family teardown does not. That review is the reason the engineer’s drawings come first.
Where the building sits in a historic district, the review grows. Lake Worth Beach requires a Certificate of Appropriateness before exterior work in its six local districts, and its Historic Preservation office reviews demolitions. In West Palm Beach, every demolition application goes to Historic Preservation for approval.
On site, load paths set the order. Temporary shoring designed by the engineer goes in before any cut, saw lines are laid out from the drawings, and removal runs in the sequence the engineer of record approves. When a removal reaches below grade, Romco self-performs Support of Excavation, the engineered system that holds a deep cut open.
Send the drawings, or a sketch of what stays. We will walk it with your engineer and price the removal to the line.
Sequence
- Collect the drawings and mark the limits of demolition.
- Have the engineer of record confirm load paths and design temporary shoring.
- Check historic designation and apply for a Certificate of Appropriateness where needed.
- Submit the permit with the site plan the county or city asks for.
- Arrange disconnects in the affected zone through licensed trades.
- Remove to the marked line in the approved sequence, then close up and protect what stays.
The usual problems
What tends to go wrong, and how it is handled
Load moves where nobody planned
A wall that looks like a partition can carry a beam. We do not cut until a licensed engineer has marked what is structural and how it is shored.
The remaining building fails inspection
PB-O-110 requires a structurally complete building when the work ends. Weather protection, fire separation and patching are written into our scope rather than left for the next trade.
Historic review discovered late
A façade change in a West Palm Beach or Lake Worth Beach district needs historic sign-off before work. We check designation before pricing, because it decides the order of work.
Occupied space beside the cut
Dust, vibration and exits for the part still in use are planned as phases, with temporary separations built before removal starts.
Outside our license
Structural design, shoring design and any change to life-safety systems belong to licensed engineers and trades. We work to their drawings and coordinate their inspections. We will not cut on an assumption about what a wall carries.
Questions
About selective demolition
Does partial demolition need drawings in Palm Beach County?
In unincorporated areas, PB-O-110 asks for a site plan showing the limits of demolition and sends partial demolition through full technical review. Whether sealed structural drawings are needed depends on what comes out. Cities run their own review, so we confirm with the building department for the address.
Can we keep a historic façade and remove the building behind it?
That is a question for the historic board. In West Palm Beach, every demolition application goes to Historic Preservation, and inside a historic district a demolition is heard by the Historic Preservation Board as a COA-Major, even for a non-contributing building. Ask early; we build the sequence around what the board approves.
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.
Selective 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 →
- Commercial demolitionStores, offices, warehouses and plazas, taken down once the releases are in hand.Commercial demolition in Palm Beach →
- House demolitionSingle-family teardowns, with the sheds, pool and septic tank handled to code.House 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.