How much does it cost to demolish a house in North Carolina?
A national cost guide puts the cost to demolish a house at $7,500 to $15,000. The average homeowner pays around $10,000 to tear down a 1,500 square foot house by machine, the guide says. That works out to about $5 to $10 a square foot.
A house with heavy asbestos can cost two to three times as much, and permits come before any machine work. These are national cost-guide numbers, not our price list. A real price for house demolition around Burlington starts with a look at the building and the lot.
What does house demolition cost by size?
The guide prices a machine teardown by square footage, so the range climbs with the size of the house.
| House size | Market cost to demolish |
|---|---|
| 500 sq ft | $2,500 to $5,000 |
| 1,000 sq ft | $5,000 to $10,000 |
| 1,500 sq ft | $7,500 to $15,000 |
| 2,000 sq ft | $10,000 to $20,000 |
| 2,500 sq ft | $12,500 to $25,000 |
Every row comes from one national cost guide, last updated in January 2025. Read the table as a frame, not a quote. The building is only part of the price. What sits under it and what has to leave the lot count too.
How much does it cost to tear down a mobile home, garage or barn?
The same guide prices smaller buildings too.
| Building | Market cost to demolish |
|---|---|
| Mobile home | $2,000 to $6,000 |
| Shed | $500 to $3,500 |
| Garage | $800 to $10,000 |
| Barn | $1,200 to $25,000 |
The garage and barn ranges run wide, and size sets where a building lands.
Burning an old barn or mobile home is no way around the cost. North Carolina’s Division of Air Quality says it is always illegal to burn construction materials or anything man-made. Its do-not-burn list names buildings, outbuildings and mobile homes. So what comes down gets hauled.
How much does asbestos add to the cost?
The national guide says a house with heavy asbestos costs two to three times as much to tear down. With asbestos in the job, its total runs $10 to $30 a square foot. That is why the asbestos inspection is worth getting first.
In North Carolina, the state’s Health Hazards Control Unit recommends an asbestos inspection before every demolition, single-family houses included. The inspection must be done by an inspector accredited by the state.
The federal asbestos rule, called NESHAP, covers bigger buildings. Its inspection and its notice apply to commercial and industrial buildings and to residential buildings with more than four units. For those buildings, the notice must reach the state unit at least 10 working days before demolition starts.
For a single-family house, the inspection is the state’s recommendation. If you are not sure which rules fit your building, ask the Health Hazards Control Unit.
Do you need a demolition permit in North Carolina?
In most cases, yes. Under G.S. 160D-1110, no one may start demolition of a building without the permits the State Building Code requires.
The office depends on the address. Inside Burlington city limits, the City of Burlington lists a demolition permit among its permit types. In unincorporated Alamance County, the Alamance County Inspections Department handles building permits. It also covers the Village of Alamance and the towns of Elon, Gibsonville, Green Level, Haw River, Swepsonville and Ossipee. In another town or county, ask that inspections office.
One national cost guide says permits begin at around $100. Ask your permit office for its fee.
Utilities come next. Under G.S. 87-122, whoever is responsible for a demolition must notify the state’s Notification Center first. The notice goes in at least three full working days before work starts. When a building is coming down, the law gives each utility time to remove or protect its lines. Call 811 to have them marked. The national guide adds that gas, water and electric lines should all be disconnected before demolition.
What else moves the price of a teardown?
What sits under the house. The national guide puts basement demolition at $5,000 to $25,000. It puts foundation removal at $1,000 to $25,000. Filling in the basement afterward raises the price more, it says.
Access. Trees, a fence or a tight lot can keep machines away from the house. The guide says hard access makes the job more complicated and expensive.
An old septic tank. If the house was on septic, state rules cover the old tank. A tank no longer in use is pumped out by a septage firm with a state permit. Then it is removed, or collapsed and backfilled so it cannot hold liquid. The pump-out is a separate trade. One national cost guide puts tank demolition at $200 to $1,000.
An old well. If the lot has a well, find out what closing it takes before the teardown is priced.
Hauling. The guide puts debris removal at about $400 to $800 for each truckload. It puts renting a roll-off dumpster at around $360 on average. Our debris removal work hauls off what a teardown leaves behind.
What happens to the lot after the house comes down?
The goal is a clear lot. Once the debris is gone, land grading shapes the ground for a new house or a yard.
Building again on septic? Our guide to septic system cost in North Carolina covers that side.
How do you get a real number for your teardown?
Start with the building. Know its size and whether it has been checked for asbestos. Then ask the permit office for the address what it needs.
Then get a written quote built on those answers. JRC Construction takes down houses, garages, barns and sheds around Burlington and hauls off what comes down. We look at the job and put a free quote in writing. See how the work runs on our demolition page, or call or text (336) 516-7170.