Practical notes for the people who hire demolition — general contractors, developers, property managers, building owners and facilities teams.
Latest
Cost drivers, permits, occupied-building work, industrial turnovers, handover standards and winter scheduling — answered straight by the people who do the work.
Winter · 6 min read
NOAA now puts a greater than 90% chance on a very strong El Niño through winter 2026–27, and Environment and Climate Change Canada's seasonal outlook favours a milder, drier winter across much of Alberta. What that changes on a demolition site, and what it does not.
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Cost · 7 min read
The seven things that move a commercial demolition quote up or down — access, structure, hazardous materials, services, disposal, occupancy and schedule. No prices, because every building is different; this is what the estimator is actually looking at.
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Occupied Buildings · 6 min read
Dust barriers, negative air, protected routes, after-hours windows and daily clean-down — how a strip-out runs when the tenants either side are still trading, and what to put in the scope before you award it.
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Permits · 7 min read
What Edmonton requires to demolish a commercial building, why the demolition permit gates your footing and foundation permit, and which authority actually issues the permit in Sherwood Park, Nisku, Acheson and the surrounding counties.
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Industrial · 6 min read
Mezzanines, racking bases, process equipment and office fit-out out of a shop building, back to the shell — how an industrial turnover runs in Nisku, Acheson and the Industrial Heartland, and what slows it down.
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Standards · 5 min read
The most abused phrase in a demolition scope. What a trade-ready handover really looks like, why the next contractor's first day is the real test, and how to write the clean-down standard into the contract so it is not an argument later.
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Winter · 5 min read
For commercial work, winter is usually the right season rather than the wrong one. Interior demolition is weather-proof, buildings are quieter, frozen ground carries equipment better, and shutdown windows are the best time a big interior scope will ever get.
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Choosing a Contractor · 7 min read
The nine questions that separate a demolition contractor who can hold a commercial scope from one who cannot — insurance and WCB, winter availability, equipment, disposal, asbestos handling, occupied-building experience — with Zebra Demolition's straight answer to each.
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Hazardous Materials · 6 min read
What Alberta requires before a building with asbestos-containing materials can be demolished, who does the assessment, who does the abatement, what the demolition contractor does and does not do, and why the sequencing decides your schedule.
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Process · 6 min read
Gas, power, water, sewer, data and fire systems all have to be isolated before a commercial demolition starts — each on its own utility's calendar. What gets disconnected, who does it, and why the gas line cutback is the item to start first.
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Scheduling · 6 min read
Why nobody honest can answer this without seeing the building — and the six things that actually set the duration of a commercial strip-out or building demolition: access, occupancy, structure, services, hazardous materials and disposal logistics.
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Scope · 5 min read
The difference between a selective (structure-sensitive) demolition and a full interior gut, when each is the cheaper choice, why "take everything out" is sometimes the more careful option, and how the choice is written into a scope so the quotes are comparable.
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Scope · 7 min read
A working checklist for general contractors and property managers writing a commercial demolition scope — extent, exclusions, protection, services, hazardous materials, disposal, access, hours, handover standard and documentation — so every bid prices the same job.
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Scope · 5 min read
The phrase on every tenant-turnover scope, defined: what stays (structure, slab, base services to a demarcation, base ceiling where specified), what goes, where the grey areas are — ceilings, flooring, data, HVAC branches — and how to write it so landlord and tenant agree before the crew arrives.
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Disposal · 5 min read
How construction and demolition material is handled on a commercial job in Edmonton — sorting on site, what the receiving facilities take, what cannot go in a mixed bin, why heavy material costs more to move than light material, and why disposal should be inside the number rather than invoiced afterwards.
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Process · 6 min read
What actually happens on a commercial demolition, step by step — from the free on-site assessment through permits, utility disconnects, protection, teardown, haul-out and final walkthrough.
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Scheduling · 5 min read
Demolition delays are different from other trade delays — they push everything behind them. The four failure modes, and what to demand from a demo sub before you award the work.
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Process · 5 min read
Why the clean slate is the actual deliverable on a demolition, what a rushed teardown really costs, and what "done right" looks like when the next trade walks in.
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Multi-Unit · 6 min read
Five things that separate a demo sub who can hold a multi-unit turnover program from one who cannot — documentation, occupied-building experience, phasing, pricing and cleanup standard.
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Send the scope and we will book a walkthrough. Free on-site estimate, one firm number, disposal included.
