Storm damage demolition · Palm Beach County
Storm damage demolition in Palm Beach County
Storm damage in Palm Beach County does not stay on the coast. Milton’s EF-3 tornado ran almost 29 miles from Wellington to Jupiter Farms. After a storm, the building official, the insurer, and the flood rules decide what comes down.
The National Weather Service survey of October 9, 2024 traced that tornado through Wellington, Loxahatchee Groves, The Acreage and Avenir in Palm Beach Gardens, where a new Publix roof collapsed. Two years earlier, an EF-2 tornado from Ian’s outer bands tore the roof off a condo building at Kings Point in west Delray Beach.
On the coast, the rules shift after a storm. Under an FDEP Emergency Final Order, removing structural remains seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line needs local authorization or an emergency CCCL permit. Beach-compatible sand is separated and kept on site, and debris goes landward of the line.
Inland or on the beach, the 50% rule frames the decision. Damage that costs 50% or more of the building’s market value, excluding land, is substantial damage, and the building must then meet flood rules. Some owners repair and some rebuild; the building department makes the determination.
Send photos and any notice from the building department or your adjuster. We will walk the site and price the work the building official requires.
Sequence
- Document the damage with photos and measurements.
- Confirm the building official’s determination and any order.
- Coordinate utility disconnects, some of which may already be off at the source.
- Check CCCL status and post-storm emergency rules for coastal sites.
- Arrange the asbestos survey and notice where the building type requires them.
- Demolish to a written sequence and haul debris to SWA-permitted facilities.
The usual problems
What tends to go wrong, and how it is handled
Demolition before the adjuster has seen it
Removing damage before it is documented can complicate a claim. We photograph and measure before work starts and wait for the owner’s go-ahead on insurer access.
An unsafe-structure order with a deadline
In unincorporated Palm Beach County, unsafe structures go through the Building Division, with appeals to the Construction Board of Adjustments and Appeals, which can authorize county demolition when deadlines pass. We read the order with you and plan to its terms.
Framing that can still move
Storm-weakened structures can shift without warning. Exclusion zones and a written top-down sequence come before any machine touches the building.
Debris on the dune
Seaward of the CCCL, sand is separated from debris and kept on site under FDEP post-storm rules. During turtle season, FWC consultation may be required.
Outside our license
Coverage decisions belong to the insurer and your adjuster. Substantial damage determinations are made by the building department. Emergency stabilization of a structure that will be kept is an engineering matter we coordinate. Mold, where found, is coordinated with a licensed mold remediator.
Questions
About storm damage demolition
Does a storm-damaged house still need a demolition permit?
Yes. Section 553.79, Florida Statutes, makes it unlawful to demolish a building without a permit from the enforcing agency, storm or no storm. Ask the building department for your address which post-storm procedures it is running. On the coast, FDEP’s emergency orders add their own conditions seaward of the CCCL.
What did Milton do in Palm Beach County?
The National Weather Service counted four tornadoes in the county on October 9, 2024. The strongest, an EF-3 with 140 mph winds, left 12 structures destroyed and 48 with major damage in Palm Beach Gardens and Avenir alone, with more damage recorded in Wellington, Loxahatchee Groves and unincorporated areas.
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.
Storm damage 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 →
- 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 →
- 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.