The honest range: $9,000 to $35,000
Most single-family teardowns in Onondaga, Oswego, Madison, Oneida, and surrounding counties land between $9,000 and $35,000 all-in. The spread is wide because four variables do most of the work:
- Square footage of the structure
- Asbestos presence (mandatory NYSDEC pre-survey on anything built before 1980)
- Basement vs slab foundation
- Attached structures like a garage, breezeway, or shed
Price bands by job size
| Job | Typical Range | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Single story, no basement, no asbestos | $9,000 to $15,000 | Slab-on-grade ranch, clean fill, no abatement |
| Standard two story, no asbestos | $14,000 to $24,000 | 1,500 to 2,400 sq ft, basement, attached garage |
| Larger home or asbestos + basement | $20,000 to $35,000 | Asbestos abatement, full basement removal, backfill, grade |
| Add-ons | +$2,000 to $6,000 | Detached garage, barn, pool removal |
What's included in the number
Every Backwell house-demolition quote is written and itemized. The price covers:
- NYSDEC pre-demolition asbestos survey
- Asbestos abatement (self-performed, NYS DOL licensed)
- Town demolition permit fee and submittal
- Utility disconnect coordination (gas, electric, water, sewer)
- Full structural teardown with hydraulic excavator
- Foundation and slab removal
- Hauling and tipping fees at a licensed C&D facility
- Clean backfill with structural fill where required
- Final rough grade
What can push price up
- Heavy asbestos. Vermiculite insulation, transite siding, or floor tile mastic add abatement scope.
- Lead paint. Required encapsulation or disposal protocols on pre-1978 structures with disturbed paint.
- Buried oil tank. Older homes often have a 275-gallon UST that needs proper removal and disposal.
- Septic abandonment. Pump, crush, and fill if a septic system is on site.
- Restricted access. Tight lots, neighbors close, or limited staging push labor hours.
- Hazmat disposal. Mercury thermostats, ballasts, fluorescent tubes, paint cans.
What can pull price down
- Detached structure with no abutting buildings (faster, no protective shoring of neighbors)
- No basement (slab-on-grade or pier foundation)
- Post-1980 build with clean materials (no asbestos)
- You handle utility disconnect scheduling yourself
- You salvage and pull anything you want to keep before we start
How we price it
We do not quote off square footage alone. The flow is: free site walk (or photos plus a phone call), written scope with line items, fixed price. No change orders unless something we could not have known about appears, in which case we document and call you before we touch anything.
Other CNY contractors quote $5,000 teardowns. Why?
Three reasons. They skip the asbestos pre-survey and hope no one notices (NYSDEC violation, can be $25,000+ fine on you, the owner). They don't haul the basement, they push it in (leaves a pit you can't build on). Or they bid low and back-charge you on change orders. Our number is what you pay.