Shed removal can be as simple as letting someone haul off a sound shed on skids, or as involved as taking down a garage and breaking out the slab under it. What it costs depends on the size of the building, what it sits on, how a machine gets to it and what you want the spot to be afterwards.
What shed removal involves
Shed removal and shed demolition get used for the same thing, but the jobs vary a lot. A wooden shed on skids with nothing inside is the light end. A metal building bolted to a slab, a block shed, a detached garage with power run to it, or a barn that has been settling for decades is the heavy end.
Most jobs follow the same steps. The building is emptied, the utilities to it are disconnected by the utility, the structure comes down and gets loaded out, and then the floor is dealt with. That might be a wood floor on blocks, gravel, or a concrete slab with footings. The last step is the one people forget, and it decides whether the spot is ready to use or just looks empty.
What it costs to demolish a shed
There is no honest flat price, because the cost to demolish a shed depends on a handful of things you can see from the yard. How big it is. What it is built from, wood, metal or block. Whether it is still full of mowers, paint cans and twenty years of stored things. Whether it sits on skids, blocks or a slab.
Access counts as well. A shed beside the driveway is easy. One at the back of a fenced yard behind a narrow gate means fence may have to come down or debris has to be carried further. Then there is haul-off, and what you want left behind: bare dirt, graded ground ready for seed, or a pad for something new. Justin walks the job and gives a fixed number before anything starts.
The least expensive way to get rid of a shed
If the shed is sound and sits on skids, someone may want it. Selling it or giving it away to someone who will move it can cost you nothing at all. A small wooden shed can also be taken apart by hand over a weekend and hauled off in a trailer, if you have the time and a place to take the debris.
Junk hauling outfits handle loose debris and small sheds that come apart easily. A machine makes sense when the building is bigger, when it is metal or block, when there is a slab and footings to break out, or when the ground needs grading afterwards. At that point, one operator who takes it down, hauls it and grades the spot back usually beats paying three different people for three different pieces.
Do you need a permit to remove an old shed?
Ask your city before a date is set. Tulsa, like many cities, wants a permit before a building is demolished. The City of Tulsa's residential guidebook also shows that even a small detached accessory building that can skip a building permit still needs a zoning clearance permit to put up, so the city does keep track of sheds.
Inside Tulsa, the question goes to the Development Services Permit Center, which lists (918) 596-9456 for permit questions. Outside Tulsa, ask the city hall of the town the property is in, or the county if it is outside any city limits. The guide to the demolition permit in Tulsa goes through who to call and what to tell them.
Garages and barns take more planning
A detached garage or a barn is a bigger job than a garden shed, and it usually has more attached to it. Many garages have power run out from the house, and some outbuildings have water. Before anything comes down, the power, gas and water to the building have to be shut off and disconnected by the utility.
If the slab and footings are coming out, Oklahoma law requires a call to OKIE811 before digging so buried lines get marked. Utility companies usually only mark their own lines, so a private line feeding the garage may not be marked at all. Point it out. Barns, carports and other small structures are all part of the work, and anything that needs abatement or a permitted demolition contractor gets flagged before the job starts.
What the spot looks like after shed demolition
A tear-out is usually the first step in something else: a bigger shop, a wider drive, a garden, or just a clear yard. The slab, the footings and any old foundation can be broken out, rebar and all, and the concrete removal page covers that part of the job. Voids get filled and the area is graded back.
If something new is going up, a pad can be cut and compacted with dozer work while the machine is already there. For a walk-through, call Justin at (918) 240-3392 with where the property is, what is coming down and roughly how big it is. The shed, garage and barn demolition page has more on how the job goes.
The Short Version
- Shed removal cost depends on size, material, contents, what it sits on, access and haul-off.
- A sound shed on skids may be sold or given away. Small wooden sheds can come apart by hand.
- A machine makes sense for bigger buildings, metal or block, slabs, footings and regrading.
- Ask your city about a permit first. Tulsa wants one before a building is demolished.
- Utilities get disconnected by the utility, and OKIE811 gets called before any digging.
Quick Answers
Should I empty the shed before it comes down?
Yes. Take out everything you want to keep, plus fuel cans, paint and chemicals, which should not go out with the building debris. Anything else left inside should be talked through at the estimate.
Can a carport come down on the same visit as the shed?
Yes. Carports are part of the small structure work, and doing two buildings in one visit saves bringing the machine back.
Does the shed slab have to come out too?
That is your choice. Some people keep a sound slab for a new building. If it is cracked, heaved or in the way, it can be broken out with the shed and the ground graded back.
How long after shed removal can I use the ground?
Once the voids are filled and the area is graded back, it is ready to seed, build on or pour. If a new pad is needed, it can be cut while the machine is still there.
See the sheds, garages & barns service or call (918) 240-3392.