Demolition or Deconstruction- A Monetary Consideration

Demolishing a house can be tough on your wallet. The cost to tear down a house depends on the home’s size — a 1,000 square foot home will cost, on average, $9,000. A 2,000 square foot home is closer to $19,000, and it can get much more expensive depending on the location, home-type, age of the home, and other considerations.

Why not start the rebuilding process with some extra cash on hand? By donating the building components of your home to a non-profit through deconstruction, it is possible to make money off tearing down your house. Up to 90% of your home’s used materials can be donated. You can collect a sizable tax deduction based on the value of the materials given to charity, earning you money from what could otherwise be a very costly procedure.

Here’s a cost breakdown for the average demolition of a 2,000 square foot home. The labor alone will cost about $15,000, and you will need to dispose of the resulting debris. That will cost another $3,600. The cost to tear down a house of this size is about $18,600. Adding this onto the cost of a rebuild significantly increases the bottom line of the full project.

But what if you deconstruct your house, salvaging a large percent of the building components and materials to donate to a non-profit? In that case, the labor itself is much more intensive and time-consuming, as the deconstruction team won’t be merely swinging a wrecking ball around. The average cost of the labor will be about $35,000, reflecting the increased care the workers need to take with the tear-down process. However, when deconstructing a home, the disposal of debris is free, as it is going to charity.

This is where the costs begin to work in your favor. The donated materials are then appraised for their total value. The donation value from the average 2,000 square foot house is typically $150,000 – $170,000. Assuming a 40% tax bracket calculated by adding the effective Federal tax rate and the effective State tax rate, the average deduction is approximately $68,400. Instead of losing money with demolition, you’ve just made over $33,000 to apply to your rebuilding budget immediately.

The cost to tear down a house cannot only be measured in money, of course. Demolition materials are a huge contributor to landfills, accelerating climate change. Donating these materials instead will not only help the environment but will help your community as well. Local charities, who help the less fortunate in our communities, will greatly benefit from the given materials. 

Green Donation Consultants has helped facilitate over $275 million worth of building materials and components to charity, with a net benefit to our customers of $86 million.

Reach out to our team by calling 800-870-3965 to get a free estimation of what deconstruction could do for your wallet and your community.