Manual Demolition in Vancouver — Hand Demo Where Machines Can't Go
Tight access, occupied floors, live services, vibration limits — our hand demo crew handles the scopes an excavator can't touch, with containment, hand load-out to our own bins, and a broom-clean handoff. One invoice, same-week mobilization.
Why GCs Sub Their Manual Demo to Us
Hand demo is where cheap subs fall apart: production rates slip, debris piles up in the corridor, and the strata or building manager is calling you about noise by day two. When the scope is a 14th-floor TI, an occupied building, or a basement you can't get a machine into, the crew doing the swinging is the whole job.
Our crews run manual demo as a system: containment and floor protection up first, work sequenced to the building's noise windows, debris hand-carried or cart-hauled to our own bins the same day it comes down. You get predictable daily production and a site that stays workable for the trades around us — not a war zone.
- Crew-sized to hit your schedule, scaled up when dates move
- Noise and dust sequencing for occupied buildings & stratas
- Elevator, corridor & floor protection before the first swing
- Hand load-out to our own bins — no debris staging on site
- Demo, bins, hauling, and cleanup on one invoice
When Manual Demo Is the Right Call — and What We Take Down
If the site rules out machines, the answer is a disciplined crew — not a smaller machine forced in anyway.
When You Need Hand Demo
- No machine access — upper floors, basements, tight lots
- Occupied buildings with noise and vibration limits
- Live services staying energized around the work
- Slab load limits that rule out skid steers
- Heritage fabric or finishes that machines would wreck
What Our Crew Removes by Hand
- Drywall, ceilings, T-bar & insulation strip-outs
- Wood and steel-stud framing & partition walls
- Tile, mortar beds, flooring & subfloor tear-up
- Concrete breaking with handheld electric breakers
- Fixtures, millwork, cabinetry & built-ins
Our Manual Demolition Process
Containment first, disciplined production, debris gone daily — one crew, one invoice.
1. Site Walk & Quote
We walk the access route and scope with you or your super, confirm building rules and noise windows, flag utilities and hazmat, and quote the job all-in — labour, bins, hauling, and cleanup.
2. Protection & Containment
Elevator pads, corridor and floor protection, dust barriers, and negative air where required — set up before the first swing, signed off with your site rules.
3. Hand Demo & Load-Out
The crew works to sequence, hand-carrying or cart-hauling debris to our own bins as it comes down — no piles in the corridor, no staging in the client's space.
4. Haul-Away & Handoff
Debris leaves on our trucks to certified facilities, protection comes down, and the space is broom-clean for your next trade — same day the demo wraps.
Manual Demolition Projects We Handle in Vancouver
High-Rise & Office TI
Tower strip-outs with freight elevator bookings, after-hours noise windows, and building-manager rules — we work inside all of them.
Occupied Residential
Condos, stratas, and lived-in homes where dust control, quiet hours, and daily debris removal keep the neighbours off your phone.
Tight-Lot & Laneway Sites
Vancouver infill lots, laneway houses, and rear additions with no machine access — hand demo and wheelbarrow load-out to bins at the curb.
Basements & Crawlspaces
Below-grade strip-outs, slab breaking with handheld breakers, and hauling up stairs — the scopes nobody else wants to price.
The Questions GCs Ask Before Booking Us
Off a site walk, not a square-foot guess. Hand demo pricing turns on access — stairs vs. freight elevator, carry distance to the bin, noise windows that compress the workday. We walk the route with you or your super and quote one all-in number covering labour, bins, hauling, disposal, and cleanup on a single invoice.
Manual Demolition Crews Across Greater Vancouver
Our crew mobilizes throughout the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley with same-week availability.
Got a Hand Demo Scope to Price?
Send us the scope or book a site walk. You'll get an all-in quote, and our crew — bins on the truck — mobilizes the same week. COIs and WorkSafeBC clearance available for your site file.
Keeping part of the structure? See our selective demolition service, deconstruction & salvage, or all our Vancouver demolition services.