Demolition, Concrete Cutting and Hauling Terms

Reviewed October 2026 · 38 terms

Demolition methods, concrete cutting and coring, and the hauling, recycling and landfill terms that show up on demolition bids in Southern California, defined in plain words.

Prices for this work: demolition · hauling and disposal · concrete cutting and coring · concrete and asphalt removal · all 2026 prices

Related services: Structure removal · Selective demolition · Concrete removal · Debris removal

• Demolition methods
• Concrete cutting and coring
• Hauling, recycling and disposal
• About this topic

Demolition methods

Cal/OSHA demolition permit

The Cal/OSHA permit required before demolishing a building, structure, scaffold or falsework more than three stories or 36 feet high. It is issued through the same Cal/OSHA permit system as the excavation permit, and the engineering survey of the structure is still required before work starts. Structure removal service

Collapse and remove

Taking a structure down to its slab and hauling it away, leaving the slab or foundation in place for the next builder. It is the usual choice when the next builder will reuse or remove the slab, and the asbestos survey and utility disconnects are still required first. Structure removal service

Commercial demolition

Demolition of offices, retail, restaurants, warehouses and industrial buildings, usually larger and heavier than residential work. It typically adds a hazardous materials survey, utility coordination with the owner and more steel and concrete to haul and recycle. Commercial demolition and site clearing

Cut and cap

Cutting a utility line such as water, sewer, gas or electrical conduit at a set point and sealing it, so the rest of the system stays in service while the disconnected part is removed. Gas and electric service at the meter is shut off by the serving utility, not the demolition contractor. Our decommissioning work

Decommissioning

Shutting down and making a facility, system or piece of equipment safe before it is removed: draining fluids, disconnecting utilities, locking out energy and removing hazardous materials. It usually comes before dismantling or demolition. Decommissioning service

Demolition shear

A hydraulic jaw attachment for an excavator that cuts steel beams, rebar, pipe and tanks. Shears cut steel into lengths a scrap yard accepts without torch cutting, which also avoids hot work. Our dismantling work

Demolition to dirt

Removing a structure along with its foundation and slab, leaving bare ground. It adds the slab, footings and buried utility stubs to the haul, so it takes more truckloads than collapse and remove. House and building demolition

Dismantling

Taking a structure or equipment apart piece by piece, often so parts can be reused, sold or moved, instead of breaking it down. It is slower than demolition but recovers more value. Dismantling service

Fire-damaged demolition

Taking down a structure damaged by fire and removing the burned debris, ash and foundation as the scope requires. Fire debris often holds asbestos, lead and other hazardous materials, so it is tested and kept wet, and the insurer or a government debris program may set the scope. Our debris removal work

Grapple (sorting grapple)

A hydraulic claw on an excavator that picks up, sorts and loads debris. It lets crews separate wood, metal and concrete as a building comes down, which helps meet recycling targets.

Hand demolition

Taking down a structure with hand tools and small equipment where machines don’t fit or nearby structures must be protected. It costs more per square foot than mechanical demolition. It is common for interior work in occupied buildings, second-story removals and structures within a few feet of a neighbor. Selective demolition service

High-reach excavator

An excavator with an extra-long boom for taking down tall buildings from the ground, piece by piece. Booms often reach 60 feet or more, so a building can come down from the top without anyone working on the upper floors.

Interior demolition

Removing interior walls, ceilings, flooring, fixtures and finishes inside a building that stays standing, often for a tenant improvement (TI). Dust control, protection of finished areas and allowed work hours shape the price, especially in occupied buildings. Interior demolition service

Make-safe

Work that leaves a damaged or partly demolished structure stable and secure, such as bracing, removing loose material and fencing it off, often after a fire, collapse or vehicle strike. After a fire, the building official or insurer often requires make-safe work before the site is released or the claim moves forward. Demolition and site clearing in Orange County

Mechanical demolition

Taking down a structure with excavators and attachments such as shears, grapples and hydraulic breakers. Where there is room to operate, it is faster and costs less than hand work. Water is sprayed on the work throughout, because SCAQMD Rule 403 bars visible dust from crossing the property line. Our structure removal work

Pre-demolition hazardous materials survey

A survey of a building before demolition for asbestos, lead paint, PCBs, mercury, refrigerants and other regulated items, so they are removed before the structure comes down. The asbestos survey is required by the air district; the rest is usually required by the project specifications and California waste rules. Asbestos abatement by our Cal/OSHA, DOSH-registered subcontractor

Selective demolition

Removing specific parts of a building, such as walls, a roof or an addition, while protecting what stays. Cut lines, shoring and patch-back are planned before work starts so the parts that stay aren’t damaged. Selective demolition service

Soft demolition

Removing non-structural interior finishes and fixtures, such as drywall, ceilings, flooring and cabinets, down to the structure. Also called a strip-out or gut-out. On a full teardown it often comes first, so recyclable materials and hazardous items are separated before the structure comes down. Our interior demolition work

Temporary bracing

Shores, braces or beams installed to hold up walls or floors while nearby structure is removed. Cal/OSHA requires a competent person to make an engineering survey of the structure before demolition starts, and bracing follows from it. Our selective demolition work

Concrete cutting and coring

Concrete scanning

Using ground-penetrating radar to locate rebar, post-tension cables and conduit before cutting or coring a slab or wall. Findings are marked directly on the concrete, so the cutter can see what to avoid. Concrete removal service

Core drilling

Cutting a round hole through concrete or masonry with a water-cooled diamond bit, usually for pipe, conduit or anchors. Priced by hole diameter and slab or wall thickness. Cores are cut wet, which is how Cal/OSHA’s silica table is met for core drills. Concrete and asphalt removal

Hydrodemolition

Removing deteriorated concrete with very high-pressure water, which leaves the rebar in place for repair. It runs at roughly 15,000 to 40,000 psi, and the runoff is collected and treated rather than sent to a storm drain.

Post-tensioned slab

A concrete slab reinforced with steel cables under high tension. It is scanned before any cutting or coring so the cables are not hit. Cutting a stressed tendon can release enough force to injure workers and weaken the slab, so an engineer must approve any cut through one.

Saw cutting

Cutting concrete or asphalt with a water-cooled diamond blade to make a clean edge before removal. Cutting wet keeps silica dust down, which Cal/OSHA’s silica table requires for walk-behind saws. Our concrete removal work

Toothing

Removing brick or block in a stepped pattern along the edge of an opening so new masonry can be woven into the old. It ties new and old masonry into one wall instead of leaving a straight vertical joint that can crack.

Wall sawing

Cutting concrete walls with a diamond saw that runs on a track mounted to the wall, used for door, window and duct openings. Large track saws can cut through walls more than 2 feet thick, and the pieces are lifted out in blocks sized for the equipment on site. Concrete removal service

Hauling, recycling and disposal

CALGreen

California’s Green Building Standards Code (Title 24, Part 11). On covered projects it requires at least 65 percent of nonhazardous construction and demolition waste to be recycled or reused, usually documented in a waste management plan filed with the city. Many cities apply the same rule to demolition permits. Many cities hold a deposit or final sign-off until weight tickets show the diversion was met.

Class II and Class III landfills

California’s landfill classes. Class III landfills take ordinary nonhazardous solid waste, including most demolition debris; Class II landfills are built to take designated wastes that need more containment; hazardous waste goes to Class I facilities. Asbestos waste goes only to landfills permitted to accept it, and treated wood waste only to approved lined units.

Diversion

The share of construction and demolition waste kept out of the landfill by recycling or reuse. California’s green building code requires at least 65 percent on most permitted projects. Concrete, asphalt, metal and clean soil are the easiest materials to divert, which is why demolition jobs often pass the 65 percent minimum.

End dump

A semi-trailer that tips up to unload, used for large loads of soil, concrete and demolition debris. It carries about twice as much as a 10-wheel dump truck, so it cuts the number of trips on large jobs.

Green waste

Plant material such as brush, branches, turf and stumps. Recyclers grind it into mulch or compost, usually at a lower dump fee than mixed debris, as long as it is free of trash and soil.

Mixed C&D debris

Construction and demolition debris that isn’t sorted, such as wood, drywall, roofing and trash in one load. It costs more to dump than sorted loads, and how much of it counts as diverted depends on the facility that sorts it. Debris hauling and recycling

Roll-off bin

An open-top container dropped at a site and hauled away full, sized in cubic yards (commonly 10, 20, 30 and 40). Concrete and dirt go in smaller bins because of weight limits. Broken concrete weighs more than a ton per cubic yard, so heavy bins are often only partly filled to stay under road weight limits. Debris removal service

Salvage

Materials removed intact for reuse or resale, such as steel, fixtures, doors, lumber or equipment. Salvage value can offset part of a demolition price. Metal is the most common salvage on demolition jobs, and recycling yards pay for it by weight.

Scale ticket

The weight slip a landfill or treatment facility issues for each truckload. Per-ton prices are billed from these weights. Each ticket shows the date, truck, gross and empty weight and material type, and tickets are the backup for CALGreen diversion reports.

Tipping (dump) fee

The charge a landfill or recycler collects for each load, by the ton or cubic yard. Clean concrete, asphalt and dirt usually cost far less to dump than mixed debris, so sorting on site lowers disposal cost.

Transfer station

A facility where loads are dumped, sorted and reloaded onto larger trucks headed for a landfill or recycler. Mixed loads are often sorted there for recycling, and the station’s diversion report can count toward a project’s total.

Transfer truck

A dump truck pulling a second trailer whose box rolls into the truck bed to dump, roughly doubling what one driver hauls per trip. It needs room to turn and back in, so tight city sites often use 10-wheel trucks instead.

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