Strip it back to the frame.
Gut outs and strip outs in the Bronx, done inside buildings that stay standing and usually stay occupied.
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- Interior demolition
What interior demolition is
Interior demolition is everything that is not the building coming out of the building. Partitions, finishes, fixtures, floors, ceilings, cabinetry, tile, the old bathroom, the old kitchen. The structure stays. The services that other people still need stay live.
It is also called a gut out, a strip out or selective demolition, depending on how much is coming out. The result is a clean shell your next trade can start in without clearing up first.
What this covers
- Full apartment gut outs, back to the structural frame
- Partial strip outs where only part of the unit is coming back
- Kitchens and bathrooms, including tile, substrate, cabinetry and fixtures
- Non-structural wall and partition removal
- Flooring, subfloor, ceilings and dropped ceilings
- Storefront and commercial spaces taken back to shell for the next tenant
- Removing the material as it comes out, so the space stays workable
If the walls coming out are load-bearing, or the whole structure is coming down, that is building demolition instead. If there is a slab on grade to come out with it, see concrete removal.
Who calls us
Landlords turning a unit over
The tenant is out, the unit is dated, and there is a gap between now and the next lease that costs money every week it stays open.
Contractors clearing before a fit out
You are not being paid to demo. You want the space empty, clean and on schedule so your own trades can start.
Owners going back to shell
The last use is gone and the next one needs an empty envelope to design into.
Working in an occupied building
Most interior work in the Bronx happens in buildings that stay occupied, and we know that shapes a job as much as the demolition does. The building keeps running while we are in it, so we plan the work around the building.
- Getting material out
The route, not the room
Which stair, or which elevator, and whether it needs protecting first. Where the container goes, and whether that spot is legal and reachable. How many trips it takes and when they can happen.
- Protecting what stays
Everything you are not paying us to touch
Common parts, corridors, the elevator cab, the entrance, and the finishes in the units we are not working in. We control dust at the boundary of the work, not just inside it.
- The neighbours
Noise has a shape to it
We keep heavy breaking to the middle of the day, not seven in the morning and not at night. The people around the work did not choose it, and your building manager hears from them before they hear from you.
- End of day
You would not know we were there
We clear and sweep the corridors, stairs and entrance before we leave each day, so the building keeps working normally around the job.
What leaves the site
Everything we break out, we load and take away. Interior demolition produces a large volume of mixed material very quickly, and a unit fills faster than most people expect. We sequence removal into the work rather than bolting it on at the end, so the space stays usable while the job runs and is clear when it finishes.
This covers the material our own work produces on your site, and it is part of the scope rather than a separate service added afterwards.
What changes the scope
- Access. Stair or elevator, how far to the street, and where a truck can legally sit
- Floor level. Everything is harder above the second floor and it compounds
- Volume. A studio and a full floor are different jobs, not the same job scaled
- What stays live. Services running through the space that other units depend on
- What is behind the wall. Old buildings hide things, and we know what to look for before we open one up
- What has to be protected. Sometimes more work than the demolition
These are the things that move a price, which is why we look before we quote. Tell us the floor, the access and roughly what is coming out, and you will get a real number rather than a range.
What a gut out actually produces
Plaster, lath, tile, substrate, cabinetry, flooring, ceiling, conduit. It comes out faster than it goes in, and a unit fills up quickly. Sequencing the removal into the work is what keeps the space usable while the job runs.
Questions
Can you do it with the tenant still in the building?
In the building, yes, that is normal. In the unit itself, no. The unit being worked in has to be empty and clear.
How long does a gut out take?
Volume and access matter more than floor area. A single bathroom is a different job from a full apartment, and a fifth floor walk-up is different again from a ground floor with a driveway. Describe the unit and the way out and we will give you a timeframe for it.
Do I need a permit to take out a wall?
It depends on what the wall is doing. Non-structural partitions in a single residential unit often fall below the threshold that needs a Department of Buildings permit. Anything bearing load does need a filing, prepared by a licensed engineer or architect. We will tell you which one we think you are looking at before anything is agreed.
Can you take out a wall between two rooms?
If it is a non-load-bearing partition, this is routine work. If it is load-bearing, it becomes structural work and needs support in place before anything is cut. Tell us where the wall sits and what is above it and we will tell you which one it is.
What state is it in when you finish?
Empty, swept and ready for your next trade. Anything we agreed would stay is still there and undamaged.
Describe the unit.
The floor, the way out, and what is coming out. That is enough to start.
Call (929) 205-0893