House demolition in Batumi: by machine or by hand, neighbours, asbestos, removal

House demolition in Batumi: when and how we clear a plot

House demolition in Batumi is needed when an old building is not worth saving or stands in the way of a new house. It is not just an excavator: before demolition the services are disconnected, we check whether the house supports a neighbour's wall and decide what to do with asbestos sheeting and metal, and after demolition the foundation is broken out, debris removed and the building deregistered. In the city's dense streets demolition is often partly done by hand so as not to damage neighbouring houses.

How demolition goes

• inspecting the house, the neighbours and access for machinery;
• disconnecting water, electricity and gas through the utility companies;
• removing windows, metal and anything that can be sold or reused;
• carefully stripping asbestos sheet roofing;
• demolishing walls and floors by machine or by hand;
• breaking out the foundation, removal and levelling the plot.

If it is not the whole house but partitions and finishes inside that are being removed, that is different work; see the demolition works page.

Machine or by hand

Manual dismantling costs more and takes longer, but in the old town and on narrow plots it is often the only safe option. The particulars of such plots are on the houses on narrow plots page.

Neighbours, dust and noise

Before demolition we photograph the walls of neighbouring houses and record existing cracks so there are no disputes later. If the houses share a wall, we keep it and strengthen it rather than knocking it down with the house. We damp down dust with water and do noisy work during the day. We warn the neighbours in advance: it saves everyone time and nerves.

Asbestos sheeting and debris

Many old houses in Adjara have roofs of asbestos cement sheeting. It is not broken with a bucket but removed in whole sheets, wetted and taken away separately from the rest of the debris. Metal is sold for scrap, and brick and concrete are sometimes crushed and used as fill for paths and hardstandings. The rest of the debris goes to landfill by tipper truck.

What can be kept

Not everything from an old house goes to waste. Old brick from good masonry, timber beams, stone steps, wrought-iron grilles and doors are often reused in the new house or the garden, and that gives the new house character. Before demolition we walk through the house with you and mark what we remove carefully and stack on the plot.

After demolition

Once the foundation is broken out, we level the plot, fill the holes and compact the ground. Before a new house a soil report is worthwhile: the old foundation and backfill change the ground under the footprint; more on the geotechnical survey page. The demolished building must be deregistered at the Public Registry, and a permit obtained for the new house; more about the documents on the permits and documents page. How a plot is prepared for construction is on the site preparation page.

How much house demolition costs

Machine demolition of a house with loading of debris costs from 66 ₾ per m² of floor area. Manual dismantling of structures in confined conditions from 125 ₾ per m², breaking out foundations and concrete structures from 170 ₾ per m³, demolishing a block partition from 61 ₾ per m². Debris removal by tipper truck or skip from 600 ₾ per trip. The final cost is set after inspecting the house, neighbours and access and agreeing an estimate.