Demolition Scope of Work Template
Download a demolition scope of work template to define removal limits, protection, utilities, equipment, hauling, disposal, exclusions, and responsibilities.
Define Demolition Work Before Crews Mobilize
A demolition scope of work documents exactly what a demolition contractor is responsible for removing, protecting, salvaging, hauling, disposing of, and cleaning up. It also establishes important boundaries around utilities, hazardous materials, temporary protection, structural support, access, occupied areas, restoration, and work assigned to others.
This Demolition Scope of Work Template is designed for selective-demolition contractors, interior demolition crews, concrete and masonry demolition contractors, structural demolition companies, site demolition contractors, estimators, project managers, superintendents, and construction business owners.
What Is a Demolition Scope of Work?
A demolition scope of work is a project document that defines the limits, responsibilities, methods, coordination requirements, and deliverables associated with demolition. Depending on the project, it may cover partitions, ceilings, flooring, doors, casework, fixtures, roofing, concrete, masonry, structural steel, foundations, paving, site improvements, equipment, sawcutting, coring, dismantling, salvage, debris handling, hauling, recycling, disposal, and cleanup.
The scope should identify the exact building, floor, room, elevation, phase, or site area affected by the work. It should also distinguish items to be demolished from items to remain, items to be salvaged, and work that another contractor or the owner will perform.
When to Use This Template
- Defining selective interior demolition for renovation projects
- Documenting complete building or structure demolition
- Defining concrete slab, footing, foundation, wall, curb, or paving removal
- Documenting masonry, structural steel, metal deck, or wood-framing demolition
- Defining flooring, ceiling, partition, door, casework, fixture, roofing, or equipment removal
- Documenting sawcutting, coring, breaking, torch cutting, dismantling, rigging, or lifting
- Establishing protection requirements for occupied spaces and work to remain
- Assigning utility shutdown, disconnection, isolation, and temporary-service responsibilities
- Defining salvage, recycling, trucking, container, and disposal requirements
- Documenting added demolition through a change order or supplemental scope
Who Should Use This Template?
This template is suitable for commercial demolition subcontractors, residential demolition contractors, selective-demolition crews, concrete-cutting and removal contractors, structural demolition firms, interior demolition companies, site demolition contractors, estimators, project managers, superintendents, and operations teams.
It can be adapted for tenant improvements, renovations, healthcare, education, hospitality, office, retail, industrial, multifamily, municipal, residential, public-works, and complete-building demolition projects.
What a Demolition Scope of Work Should Include
| Scope Section | What to Define |
|---|---|
| Project References | Project, contract, drawings, demolition plans, specifications, addenda, RFIs, revisions, and other documents controlling the work. |
| Demolition Limits | Building, floor, room, elevation, phase, grid line, site area, material, assembly, and exact limits of removal. |
| Items to Remain | Existing finishes, structure, equipment, utilities, fixtures, landscaping, or adjacent construction that must remain and be protected. |
| Selective Demolition | Partitions, ceilings, flooring, doors, frames, casework, fixtures, equipment, finishes, and other components to be selectively removed. |
| Structural and Heavy Demolition | Concrete, masonry, structural steel, metal deck, framing, foundations, roofing, paving, and site structures to be removed. |
| Sawcutting and Coring | Locations, dimensions, depths, openings, penetrations, limits, and coordination requirements for cutting or coring. |
| Utilities | Responsibility for identification, shutdown, disconnection, isolation, capping, temporary service, and verification before demolition. |
| Protection | Dust barriers, temporary partitions, floor and wall protection, barricades, negative air, water suppression, weather protection, and protection of occupied areas. |
| Equipment and Access | Excavators, skid steers, breakers, saws, lifts, cranes, scaffolds, chutes, staging areas, elevators, stairs, haul routes, and access restrictions. |
| Debris Handling | Sorting, staging, loading, source separation, containers, trucking, recycling, disposal, and required documentation. |
| Salvage | Items to be retained, ownership, dismantling requirements, protection, labeling, storage, transportation, and delivery location. |
| Cleanup and Completion | Debris removal, broom-clean conditions, temporary-protection removal, final cleanup, remaining conditions, and turnover requirements. |
| Exclusions and Work by Others | Clearly identifies work outside the demolition contractor's responsibility and prevents assumptions about adjacent scopes. |
How to Use the Template
- Enter the customer, project, contract, subcontract, project manager, superintendent, and controlling document references.
- Divide the demolition work by building, floor, room, elevation, site area, phase, or another location system used on the project.
- List each demolition activity and identify the material, assembly, quantity, limits, demolition method, and drawing reference.
- Identify items that must remain, including structure, finishes, equipment, utilities, landscaping, and adjacent construction.
- Document protection requirements before demolition starts, including barriers, floor protection, dust control, negative air, water suppression, barricades, and traffic controls where applicable.
- Assign responsibility for utility identification, shutdowns, disconnections, isolations, caps, temporary services, and verification.
- Document equipment, access routes, elevators, stairs, chutes, cranes, staging areas, container locations, and debris-haul paths.
- Define sorting, recycling, salvage, trucking, disposal, and documentation requirements for each applicable debris stream.
- List exclusions and work by others separately instead of relying on general statements.
- Review the completed scope against the awarded proposal, contract documents, approved changes, and current field conditions before releasing work.
A selective-demolition subcontractor is assigned two floors of an occupied medical-office renovation. The scope identifies removal of acoustical ceilings, metal-stud partitions, flooring, casework, plumbing fixtures, doors and frames, and designated sections of reinforced concrete slab. Existing perimeter walls, active electrical feeders, fire-protection mains, and adjacent finished corridors remain. The scope assigns utility isolation to the appropriate trade before demolition, requires dust barriers and negative air at occupied interfaces, defines elevator and debris routes, identifies 30-yard roll-off staging, and excludes hazardous-material abatement unless specifically added through an approved change.
Best Practices for Demolition Scopes of Work
- Use specific locations instead of broad descriptions such as “remove as required.”
- Reference drawings, details, room numbers, grid lines, elevations, and field markings where they clarify demolition limits.
- Identify both what is removed and what remains.
- Record concrete and masonry thicknesses when those dimensions affect demolition methods or limits.
- Identify responsibility for utility shutdowns and verification before demolition begins.
- Separate ordinary demolition from specialized hazardous-material abatement.
- Document protection requirements for occupied spaces, finished surfaces, structure, equipment, and adjacent work.
- Define who owns salvaged material and where it must be stored or delivered.
- Define debris handling from the demolition point through staging, loading, hauling, recycling, and disposal.
- Update the scope when approved field changes alter demolition limits or responsibilities.
Common Demolition Scope of Work Mistakes
- Using “complete demolition” without defining the physical limits of removal
- Listing items to remove without identifying adjacent items that remain
- Failing to define utility shutdown and disconnection responsibilities
- Omitting floor level, access, staging, elevator, stair, chute, or haul-route requirements
- Failing to document concrete thickness or structural demolition limits
- Combining ordinary demolition and hazardous-material abatement into an unclear scope
- Leaving salvage ownership or storage requirements undefined
- Ignoring temporary protection, dust control, occupied-area, noise, or vibration requirements
- Defining removal but not debris loading, hauling, disposal, and cleanup
- Failing to revise the scope after an approved field or design change
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a demolition scope of work include?
It should identify project references, demolition limits, items to remain, removal activities, protection, utility responsibilities, equipment and access, debris handling, salvage, cleanup, exclusions, work by others, and completion requirements.
How detailed should demolition limits be?
Use enough detail for the field team and customer to identify the work without guessing. Buildings, floors, rooms, grid lines, elevations, dimensions, materials, thicknesses, drawing references, and field-marked limits can all help define the boundary.
How should concrete demolition be documented?
Identify the location, dimensions, thickness, known reinforcement information where relevant, sawcut limits, removal method, adjacent construction to remain, debris handling, and whether patching or infill is included or performed by others.
Who should disconnect utilities before demolition?
The scope should explicitly assign responsibility according to the project documents and coordination plan. Do not assume the demolition contractor or another trade is responsible without documenting the requirement.
How should hazardous materials be addressed?
Reference the available project information and clearly identify whether specialized abatement is included, excluded, separately contracted, or otherwise addressed. Ordinary demolition scope should not be assumed to include specialized abatement unless specifically stated.
What should be included for demolition debris?
Define sorting, staging, loading, containers, truck access, hauling, recycling, disposal streams, ownership, required tickets or receipts, and final cleanup responsibilities where applicable.
How should salvage items be documented?
Identify the item, quantity, owner, dismantling requirements, protection, labeling, storage location, transportation responsibility, and final delivery location.
Should exclusions be part of the scope of work?
Yes. Clear exclusions help distinguish demolition responsibilities from abatement, restoration, temporary utilities, engineering, shoring, patching, new construction, and other work that may be assigned elsewhere.
Make Demolition Responsibilities Clear in the Field
A detailed demolition scope of work gives project teams a common reference for removal limits, protection, utilities, access, equipment, debris handling, salvage, exclusions, and completion requirements. That clarity becomes especially important when demolition interfaces with occupied spaces, existing systems, structural work, and multiple specialty trades.
SimplySub can help subcontractors keep job information and project documents organized as work moves from awarded scope into field execution and change management.