How to Quote and Run a Commercial Demolition and Strip-Out Contract

What you will learn

• The difference between soft strip and structural demolition determines your CDM obligations, plant requirements, and programme length - define scope before you quote.
• A Refurbishment and Demolition (R&D) asbestos survey is a legal prerequisite for all work on buildings that may contain asbestos-containing materials.
• CDM 2015 imposes Principal Contractor duties on demolition projects - understand your F10 notification obligations before mobilizing.
• Every load of controlled waste leaving site requires a waste transfer note; leading demolition contractors target 95% or more diverted from landfill.
• Variations in demolition contracts are frequent - agree a change control process at contract stage and raise variation notices promptly.
• Build your handover documentation through the programme, not at the end - waste transfer notes, clearance certificates, and RAMS are deliverables, not admin.

Demolition and strip-out contracts go wrong at the quoting stage more often than on site. A contractor who has not clearly defined whether the scope covers soft strip, structural demolition, asbestos removal, or all three will price a different job from the one the client expects - and absorb the difference in margin. This guide sets out how to scope, quote, and run a commercial demolition or strip-out contract from initial enquiry through to waste documentation and final sign-off.

Key Takeaways

• The difference between soft strip and structural demolition determines your CDM obligations, plant requirements, and programme length - define it before you quote.
• A Refurbishment and Demolition (R&D) asbestos survey is a legal prerequisite for all demolition and strip-out work on buildings that may contain asbestos-containing materials.
• CDM 2015 imposes Principal Contractor duties on demolition projects - understand your notification obligations before you mobilize.
• Waste management is not an afterthought: every load leaving site requires a waste transfer note, and your recycling rate is a measurable deliverable.
• Variations in demolition contracts are common; a change control process agreed at contract stage prevents disagreements over what was included.
• Document every stage - from pre-start surveys to clearance certificates - because proof of compliance protects you at final account and against future liability.

Defining the Scope: Soft Strip vs. Structural Demolition

The first thing to clarify on any enquiry is whether the client needs soft strip, structural demolition, or a combined enabling works package. These are different operations with different risk profiles, plant requirements, and programme lengths.

Soft strip - sometimes called internal strip-out or back-to-shell works - involves removing non-structural elements: internal partitions, suspended ceilings, raised access floors, M&E services (including HVAC, cabling, lighting, and fire systems), furniture, and fixtures. The primary structure stays intact. This is the standard requirement for a commercial office or retail unit being refurbished for a new occupier, or a warehouse being prepared for re-let.

Structural demolition goes further: removing load-bearing elements, floor slabs, external walls, or the full building. It requires different plant, temporary works design, party wall considerations, and a longer programme. A standard 10,000 sq ft office strip-out typically takes 4 to 6 weeks, while full demolition of the same footprint requires 12 to 16 weeks including structural surveys and safety hoarding installation.

A hybrid scope - soft strip followed by selective structural demolition to open up a building for extension - is common in commercial refurbishment. Price these stages separately in your quote so the client can see what each phase costs and you can control what is in scope.

Pre-Contract Essentials: Survey, Asbestos, and CDM

Before you commit a price, you need information that a desk exercise cannot provide. This means a site visit and, in many cases, access to specialist survey reports before anything can be quoted accurately.

The R&D Survey

Any building constructed or refurbished before 2000 is assumed to contain asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) until proven otherwise. Before demolition or strip-out begins, a Refurbishment and Demolition survey - conducted by a qualified surveyor under Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 - is a legal requirement. The survey is intrusive: it accesses areas that will be disturbed during works, including floor voids, ceiling voids, and behind panels.

If the client cannot provide a current R&D survey at tender stage, either price a provisional sum for licensed asbestos removal or make the survey a pre-contract condition. Do not commit to a fixed price until you know what is behind the walls. Licensed removal of high-risk ACMs is a specialist operation with its own procurement and programme implications.

CDM 2015 Obligations

Under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, demolition is a notifiable activity. If the project is notifiable - lasting more than 30 working days with more than 20 workers simultaneously, or exceeding 500 person-days of work - an F10 notification must be submitted to the HSE before the construction phase begins. As Principal Contractor, you are responsible for:

• Preparing and maintaining the Construction Phase Plan
• Ensuring the Pre-Construction Information Pack is distributed to all workers
• Managing site safety throughout the demolition sequence
• Keeping the HSE notification current if the programme changes

Even on smaller, non-notifiable projects, CDM duties still apply. You need RAMS (Risk Assessments and Method Statements) covering every phase of the works, a Construction Phase Plan, and welfare facilities on site.

Utility Isolation

Confirm that all services - gas, electricity, water, drainage, and telecoms - are isolated and disconnected before any physical works begin. Obtain written confirmation from the relevant utility providers. If services pass through the building to serve neighboring occupiers, this becomes a coordination task that needs a named owner before you mobilize.

Quoting a Demolition and Strip-Out Contract

Commercial strip-out is typically priced per square metre of floor area, adjusted for fit-out complexity, access constraints, and waste volume. Published UK benchmarks for interior strip-out costs run from approximately £25 to £65 per square metre for standard commercial environments, while full structural demolition starts at around £110 per square metre when site clearance and waste management are included. These are indicative ranges - your actual costs depend on fit-out specification, site access, storey height, plant requirements, and proximity to neighboring buildings.

Structure your quote to show the client what drives the number rather than presenting a single lump sum. A useful breakdown for a strip-out contract includes:

• Preliminaries: site setup, welfare, hoarding, skip zone, H&S management, CDM administration
• Soft strip labour and plant by zone or floor
• M&E removal and decommissioning
• Asbestos management (if known) or provisional sum (if the survey is outstanding)
• Waste removal and disposal: estimated tonnage, licensed waste carrier costs, landfill tax exposure
• Any specialist works: high-reach plant access, confined space working, structural propping
• Contingency for unmarked services or obstructions

On fixed-price contracts, be explicit about what triggers a variation: services not shown on the drawings, hazardous materials not identified in the R&D survey, additional floors or areas added to scope, and any delay caused by the client's failure to isolate services on time. Define these in your contract terms before you start.

Running the Programme: Sequence, Plant, and Labour

Once the contract is awarded, the demolition sequence needs to be planned before mobilization rather than decided on the first day on site. The standard sequence for a commercial strip-out is:

1. Confirm service isolation is complete - obtain written sign-off before any physical work begins.
2. Erect site hoarding, welfare facilities, and any required traffic management or pedestrian protection.
3. Complete or verify the R&D asbestos survey results; appoint and programme the licensed removal contractor if ACMs are present.
4. Strip out loose furniture and fittings - this can often run in parallel with asbestos monitoring.
5. Remove M&E services systematically by floor: decommission before cutting out. Cabling, ductwork, and pipework should be cleared floor by floor rather than cut randomly and left trailing.
6. Strip suspended ceilings and raised access floors, removing material to waste skips or roll-on/roll-off containers as each floor is cleared.
7. Remove internal partitions - non-load-bearing first; any structural alterations require temporary works design before demolition begins.
8. Clear and clean each floor to the agreed finish standard - typically bare concrete or structural soffit.
9. Conduct a joint inspection with the client or their project manager to agree practical completion of each floor or phase.

Record daily labour allocation and plant utilization against each phase. On a contract with multiple floors or areas, this data supports your stage payment applications and any variation claims. If you are working around a live building - occupied floors above or adjacent units - document the daily working hours and access restrictions as well.

Waste Management: Tracking, Recycling, and Compliance

Waste management is not a postscript to the demolition programme - it is a legal and commercial deliverable in its own right. Every load of controlled waste leaving site must be accompanied by a waste transfer note, signed by a licensed waste carrier. Keep copies; you may need them to demonstrate Duty of Care compliance well after the project is complete.

On most commercial strip-outs, the majority of waste is recyclable: metals, timber, plasterboard, and plastics can typically be segregated at point of removal and sent for material recovery. Leading demolition contractors target 95% or more of waste diverted from landfill. A higher recycling rate reduces your disposal and landfill tax costs, which directly affects the profitability of the contract.

Maintain a waste log throughout the programme recording material type, estimated tonnage, carrier details, and disposal facility for every load. If the client has BREEAM or sustainability targets on their project, they will need this documentation as a deliverable at handover.

Stage Invoicing, Variations, and Final Account

Demolition contracts rarely pay as a single invoice at completion. Structure your payment schedule around measurable milestones: mobilization and site setup, completion of each floor or zone, asbestos clearance certification, and final site handover. Agree the stage payment schedule at contract award - not after you have started work.

Variations are frequent in strip-out work. Unmarked services, asbestos not identified by the survey, structural obstructions, or a client decision to extend scope mid-programme all generate legitimate additional costs. Issue variation notices promptly - not at final account. A variation raised two days after the work is completed is straightforward to agree; the same variation raised at final account three months later is a dispute.

At practical completion, the handover documentation for a demolition contract typically includes:

• Waste transfer notes for all controlled waste removed from site
• Licensed asbestos removal contractor clearance certificate (if applicable)
• Completed RAMS and Construction Phase Plan
• F10 notification reference (if the project was notifiable)
• Photographic record of pre-start and post-completion condition
• Any structural drawings or temporary works design documentation

Maintaining organized records through the programme - rather than assembling them retrospectively - makes the final account process straightforward and protects you against future claims about the condition of the structure or the handling of hazardous materials.

Running a demolition and strip-out contract profitably comes down to scope clarity at the quoting stage, a managed demolition sequence that prevents rework, and documented compliance at every step. Businesses operating across multiple contracts at the same time - managing quotes, purchase orders for plant and licensed sub-contractors, and stage invoicing simultaneously - benefit from a single system that keeps each job's financials and documentation in one place. Zigaflow gives demolition and strip-out contractors the structure to quote accurately, track costs against programme, and raise stage invoices without chasing across multiple spreadsheets. See how it works at /demo.

Sources

• Strip-out and Demolition: A Professional Guide to Site PreparationGCS Contractors Ltd · accessed 2026-08-11
• Warehouse Stripout - Licensed & NationwideJim Wise Demolition · accessed 2026-08-11

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