Commercial Demolition
in Toronto & the GTA

Commercial Demolition in Toronto: What Owners and Contractors Need to Know

Manpower Demolition takes on commercial demolition across Toronto and the GTA from our base in Woodbridge, Vaughan. Property owners and landlords call us when a unit has to be cleared for a new tenant or a building has to come down for redevelopment. General contractors bring us in as the demolition trade on their projects, and tenants call when a lease ends and the space has to go back to the landlord.

The work ranges from one office floor to a whole building. A store gets stripped back to the shell. A restaurant kitchen comes out before a new operator moves in. A plaza unit or an older commercial building is taken down to grade so the next project can start.

Commercial jobs come with more paperwork than houses: a designated substance list, a demolition permit with more questions on it, utility letters, building rules, sometimes a Notice of Project to the province. This page walks through all of it, so you know what has to happen before the first wall comes down and what to send us for a quote.

Which kind of commercial demolition does your project need?

Most commercial jobs fall into one of three scopes. The scope decides the permit, the sequence and how long the work takes, so it’s worth naming it early.

Strip-out (interior demolition). Partitions, drop ceilings, flooring, millwork, counters and fixtures come out, and the structure stays. This is the usual job between two tenants or before a renovation. Our interior demolition guide covers strip-outs in detail, including condo and occupied-building rules.

Selective demolition. Only chosen parts come out: a wall, a mezzanine, a section of slab, a storefront, one wing of a building. Everything marked to stay is protected. We do this by hand where it matters, which is how our selective deconstruction work is set up.

Full building demolition. The building comes down to grade or to the foundation, under a demolition permit, with services cut off and the site fenced first. For houses, garages and smaller buildings, see complete house and building demolition.

Many projects mix the three. A plaza might need one unit stripped, a wall opened into the next unit and an old addition at the back taken down. We price each part on its own so you can see where the cost sits.

The buildings we work in

• Offices. Floors and suites cleared for a new layout, or returned to base building at the end of a lease.
• Retail units and plazas. Storefronts, fixtures and finishes out, often while the neighbouring units keep trading.
• Restaurants and food service. Kitchens, walk-in coolers, bars, washrooms and dining rooms. Grease, refrigerant and old equipment all need proper handling.
• Sales centres and show suites. Built to come down once the project sells. One customer’s 3,400 sq ft sales centre was gutted in three days.
• Industrial and warehouse units. Office build-outs inside the unit, partition walls, mezzanines, and older additions.
• Mixed-use buildings. Commercial floors under apartments or condos, where the building’s rules on noise, elevators and access apply to everything we do.

Before anything comes down: the designated substance list

In Ontario, the owner of a project has to find out which designated substances are on site and list them before the work goes to tender. That’s section 30 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Asbestos is the one most people know, but lead, mercury and silica are on the same list.

“Owner” covers more people than you might think. Under the Act it includes tenants and occupiers, so a tenant clearing a leased unit can carry this duty too. Settle who orders the survey before you ask for prices.

Older commercial buildings often contain asbestos in floor tiles, ceiling tiles, pipe and boiler insulation, drywall compound and fireproofing. Ontario’s asbestos rules (O. Reg. 278/05) sort the removal into Type 1, 2 or 3 depending on the material and the amount. A large removal of friable material is Type 3, the most controlled kind. Any asbestos that the demolition would disturb comes out first, and the teardown starts after.

Toronto’s demolition permit application asks about more than asbestos:

• whether the site has ever had an industrial use;
• fuel or fluid storage tanks above or below ground (vent stacks can give away a buried tank);
• PCBs, found in older light ballasts, transformers and capacitors;
• ozone-depleting substances, such as the refrigerant in older coolers and air conditioning;
• WHMIS-controlled products left on site, such as chemicals, oils and solvents;
• any outstanding orders from the Ministry of the Environment or the Ministry of Labour.

A yes to any of these can mean an environmental consultant has to audit the building, with a dust control plan, before the permit application goes in. Restaurants, old print shops, garages and dental or veterinary offices are the usual places these turn up.

We handle asbestos, lead and mould abatement ourselves, so the removal and the demolition run on one schedule under one crew. You don’t wait for a second contractor to finish before we can start.

Permits for commercial demolition in Toronto

Taking down a building, or part of one, needs a demolition permit from the city before work starts. In Toronto, permits come from Toronto Building under chapter 363 of the Municipal Code, and the application comes with a checklist.

That checklist decides whether a professional engineer has to review the demolition while it happens. An engineer is required when any of these apply:

• the building is more than three storeys tall;
• its building area is more than 600 m² (about 6,458 sq ft);
• it has pre-tensioned or post-tensioned concrete;
• the demolition goes below the footings of a neighbouring building, close enough to affect it;
• explosives or lasers will be used.

In those cases the application includes the engineer’s general review commitment and a letter on how the building is built and how it will come down. Many commercial buildings cross the 600 m² line, so expect it on anything bigger than a single unit.

Strip-outs follow different rules. Removing finishes and fixtures usually doesn’t need a demolition permit, but removing or adding walls, changing exits, touching the structure or changing the use of a space falls under a building permit. When the strip-out is the first phase of a renovation, the demolition is often part of the renovation permit. We’ll tell you which one your scope needs before you book anything.

Other permits that come up on commercial jobs:

• Street Occupation Permit. Needed if bins, equipment, hoarding or materials sit past your property line on the boulevard, sidewalk, road or lane.
• Heritage. Designated buildings and properties in heritage districts need heritage approval before demolition.
• Other GTA cities. Vaughan, Mississauga, Brampton, Markham and the rest each run their own permit process, fees and forms. The questions are similar; the paperwork is not, so we check the local rules for every address.

Toronto’s noise by-law allows construction noise from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays, and not on Sundays or statutory holidays. A landlord or building manager can set tighter hours, and the schedule follows the stricter of the two.

Notice of Project and site safety

Ontario’s construction regulation (O. Reg. 213/91) requires the constructor to notify the Ministry of Labour before work begins on certain projects. Two of the triggers catch most commercial demolition: labour and materials expected to cost more than $50,000, or the demolition of a building at least 4 metres high with a floor area of at least 30 m². That second test covers almost any commercial building, so a full teardown nearly always needs a Notice of Project. When we’re the constructor, filing it is our job; when a general contractor runs the site, it’s theirs.

Every commercial job also needs a site plan for safety: who can enter the work area, where the hoarding and fencing go, how debris leaves the building, and how fire exits and sprinklers stay working for the rest of the building. We provide our certificates of insurance and safety documents on request, before the job starts.

Utilities: who cuts off what

When you apply for a demolition permit in Toronto, the owner or their agent declares that they’ve arranged with the utilities to end and cap every service: water, sewer, gas, electricity, telephone and cable. Nothing structural comes down until each one is confirmed off.

On a strip-out the services usually stay live for the next tenant, so they’re isolated and capped at the edge of the work area instead. Sprinkler and fire alarm lines need particular care in a building that stays open, and changes to them go through licensed trades and the building’s fire safety plan.

Our contract says in writing who orders each disconnect, who caps it and who confirms it. Leaving that to assumption is how commercial demolition jobs stall on day one. If we’re digging out foundations or slabs, Ontario One Call locates buried lines first.

Working around a business that stays open

A lot of commercial demolition happens next to people who are still working: the other units in a plaza, the floors above an office, the half of a warehouse that keeps shipping.

That changes how we plan the job:

• Hoarding and dust protection go up first, at the edge of the work area.
• Noisy work like breaking concrete is scheduled around the building’s quiet hours.
• Debris goes out by an agreed route, with elevator and loading-dock times booked through the property manager.
• Shared walls, ceilings and services are protected and checked before and after.
• Neighbouring tenants get notice of the dates and the noisy days, through the landlord.

One client we’ve worked with for more than ten years described a job in a high-security condo building with noise restrictions, where our crew sent updates every day. Commercial buildings work the same way: the building’s rules come first and the schedule is built around them.

Debris, recycling and what’s left at the end

Our trademarked promise is No Nail Left Behind. When we finish, the space or the lot is clean and ready for the next trade, and nothing is left for the fit-out crew or the builder to clear.

Commercial demolition makes a lot of material. We separate it as it comes out: metal to scrap, clean concrete and masonry to recyclers, clean wood and cardboard to approved processors, and the rest to licensed transfer stations. Fixtures and equipment in good shape can be salvaged instead of thrown out.

Ontario sets extra rules for big jobs. When the buildings coming down total 2,000 m² of floor area or more, the demolisher has to carry out a waste audit and write a waste reduction work plan (O. Reg. 102/94). A source separation program has to be in place before demolition starts, keeping brick and concrete, steel, and untreated wood apart from the rest (O. Reg. 103/94).

Before we start, we agree the end state in writing. That might be a bare slab, a shell with capped services ready for a fit-out, or a cleared and graded lot. Agreeing it at the start means there’s no argument at handover.

How a commercial demolition job runs

1. Site visit. We walk the space or the building with you, your property manager or your general contractor, and we look at access, loading, neighbours and what has to stay.
2. Scope and end state. We write down what comes out, what stays, the order of work and the condition we hand back.
3. Documents. The designated substance survey, the permits, the utility letters, the building’s rules, and a Notice of Project if one applies.
4. Protection and disconnects. Hoarding, dust barriers and floor protection go up, and services are cut off and confirmed.
5. Abatement. Any asbestos, lead or mould in the way comes out first, by our abatement crew.
6. Strip-out or teardown. By hand where precision matters, with machines where it’s safe and faster. Concrete cutting where openings are needed.
7. Haul-off and handover. Materials sorted and removed, the site swept and checked against the agreed end state.

How long it takes depends on the size of the space and the rules of the building. Two examples from our customers’ reviews: a 3,400 sq ft sales centre gutted in three days, and a top-to-bottom gut at the old Muddy Duck restaurant in Mississauga, finished in the seven days we promised. A whole building takes longer, mostly because of the survey, the permit and the utility cut-offs, which have to be done before demolition starts.

What changes the cost of a commercial demolition

We don’t publish set prices, because two jobs of the same size rarely cost the same. These are the things that move the number:

• strip-out, selective work or full teardown, and how much of each;
• what the survey finds, and how much abatement has to happen first;
• access: loading docks, elevator bookings, lane or street space, distance to the bin;
• whether the building or the neighbouring units stay open during the work;
• working hours set by the building or the noise by-law;
• the end state: bare slab, capped shell or cleared lot;
• permits, engineering review and any temporary support the sequence needs;
• how much material can be recycled or salvaged.

The estimate is free. We itemize it so you can see each part of the scope.

What to send us for a quote

The more we know up front, the more accurate the quote:

• the address, and photos or a video walk-through;
• drawings or a floor plan, with the area marked;
• the designated substance survey, if you have one;
• the building’s rules for contractors (hours, elevators, docks, insurance documents);
• what has to stay, and the end state you need;
• your target start date and any deadline, such as a lease end or a new tenant’s move-in.

General contractors can send the tender package as it is. We work as the demolition subtrade on general contractors’ projects. ERO Build, one of the contractors we work with, wrote in their review that our crew was clean and kept to schedule across several projects.

Where we work

From Woodbridge we cover Toronto and the GTA. That includes Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville, Vaughan, Brampton, Markham and the cities around them. Each city has its own permit office and rules, and we check them for every address.

Commercial Demolition Questions

What is commercial demolition?

It’s the demolition of buildings, or parts of buildings, used for business: offices, stores, restaurants, plazas, sales centres and industrial units. It ranges from stripping out one unit for a new tenant to taking a whole building down to grade.

What is the difference between commercial demolition and interior demolition?

Interior demolition, or a strip-out, removes what’s inside while the structure stays. Commercial demolition is the wider term: it includes strip-outs, selective removal of parts of a building and full teardowns of commercial buildings.

Do I need a permit for commercial demolition in Toronto?

Taking down a building or part of one needs a demolition permit from Toronto Building. A strip-out of finishes usually doesn’t, but work on walls, exits, the structure or the use of a space needs a building permit. Bins or equipment on the street need a Street Occupation Permit.

When does a commercial demolition need an engineer?

In Toronto, a professional engineer has to review the demolition if the building is over three storeys or 600 m², has pre-tensioned or post-tensioned concrete, if the work goes below a neighbour’s footings, or if explosives or lasers are used.

Who has to check for asbestos before commercial demolition?

The project owner. Ontario law requires the owner to list the designated substances on site, asbestos included, before tendering the work. The Act counts tenants and occupiers as owners, so a tenant clearing a unit can be responsible too.

Does commercial demolition need a Notice of Project?

Usually, yes. Ontario requires one before work starts when a project costs more than $50,000 in labour and materials, or when it demolishes a building at least 4 metres high with a floor area of at least 30 m². The constructor files it with the Ministry of Labour.

Do you remove the asbestos as well?

Yes. We handle asbestos, lead and mould abatement ourselves, so the removal and the demolition run on one schedule.

Who disconnects the utilities?

In Toronto the owner or their agent arranges for every service to be cut off and capped before demolition: water, sewer, gas, electricity, telephone and cable. Our contract states who orders, caps and confirms each one.

Can you work while the rest of the plaza or building stays open?

Yes. We put up hoarding and dust protection, book elevators and loading docks through the property manager, and schedule noisy work to the building’s hours.

How long does commercial demolition take?

A strip-out of a few thousand square feet often takes days: one customer’s 3,400 sq ft sales centre was gutted in three. A full building takes longer, mostly for the survey, the permit and the utility cut-offs before work starts.

What happens to the debris?

We sort it as it comes out: metal to scrap, concrete and masonry to recyclers, clean wood and cardboard to processors, and the rest to licensed transfer stations. The site is left clean for the next trade.

Do you work as a subcontractor for general contractors?

Yes. General contractors bring us in as the demolition trade on their projects, and we work to their schedule, site rules and safety plan.