Commercial demolition · Miami-Dade County
Commercial demolition in Miami-Dade
Commercial demolition in Miami-Dade starts with paper. The county wants drawings signed and sealed by a design professional, DERM approval, an asbestos survey and a notice filed before the first machine moves.
The Notice of Demolition or Asbestos Renovation goes to Miami-Dade's air quality office at least 10 working days before demolition starts. A city or county building permit is not that notice. Owners who confuse the two are the ones who lose weeks at the start.
On the ground, the constraints are the street, the neighbors and the water. A commercial lot usually sits against a sidewalk, other buildings and live utilities. Florida Building Code Chapter 33 covers safeguards during demolition, and pedestrian protection is planned before the façade comes down.
Below grade, Miami-Dade sits on porous limestone with the water table close to the surface. When foundations, pits or basements come out, Romco self-performs dewatering and Support of Excavation, the engineered system that holds a deep cut open, so that work stays with one contractor.
Romco Builders is a licensed Florida general contractor. We quote commercial demolition at any size and give you the permit path and the order of work with the number.
Sequence
- Review the site, the survey and the owner's plans for the lot.
- Arrange the licensed asbestos survey and any abatement by a licensed firm.
- Obtain sealed demolition drawings, DERM approval and the building permit.
- File the Notice of Demolition at least 10 working days ahead.
- Confirm utility disconnects and set fencing and pedestrian protection.
- Demolish top-down, sort and haul debris, and remove foundations as scoped.
- Backfill, grade and close the permit.
Known risks
Where this work slips, and what we do about it
The asbestos notice is filed late
Demolition cannot start until the notice period has run. We arrange the licensed survey early and track the notice date as a fixed milestone in the schedule.
Debris lands where people walk
Sidewalks and neighboring lots stay close to the work. Pedestrian protection, fencing and the drop zone are planned under rigorous safety protocols before demolition reaches the street side.
Groundwater floods the foundation dig
The water table can rise into an excavation quickly. Our self-performed dewatering and SOE let us control it without waiting on another firm.
A utility is still live
Service lines in older commercial buildings are not always where records say. Utility owners and licensed trades confirm disconnects in writing before we take the structure down.
What sits outside our scope
Sealed drawings, structural engineering, asbestos surveys and abatement, and utility disconnects are licensed work by others that we coordinate. Disposal follows the receiving facility's rules.
Questions
About commercial demolition
Is the building permit the same as the asbestos notice?
No. Miami-Dade states that a city or county demolition permit is not the NESHAP notice. The notice goes separately to the county's air quality office.
Do you remove foundations too?
If the scope calls for it, yes. Where a dig reaches groundwater, we self-perform the dewatering and Support of Excavation.
Can a city block demolition of an older coastal building?
A 2024 state law limits local power to block demolition of some coastal buildings partly seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line. It has exclusions, so ask your building department and your attorney.
How much will my demolition cost?
We quote each job after seeing it, in person or through photos and plans when they show enough. The figure moves with the construction type, the floor area and height, the asbestos survey result, the utilities to be cut off, how machines reach the work, what stands next door, what must be kept, and how far the loads travel. A 1950s concrete block house and a 1990s frame addition can sit on the same street and quote very differently, which is why we publish no rates.
Is there a minimum or maximum job size?
No. A single partition wall, a shed, a pool deck or a full apartment building can all be quoted, and so can partial work where most of the structure remains. Describe what is there and what needs to survive, and the quote follows that scope.
Is Romco a licensed contractor?
Yes. Romco Builders is a licensed Florida general contractor based in Fort Lauderdale. Trades that need their own license, such as asbestos abatement, electrical and plumbing disconnects, mold remediation or tree removal, are done by firms holding that license, and we run them on one schedule.
From first call to final
The order a Miami-Dade job follows
Call or send the request
Give us the address, photos or plans if you have them, and a plain account of what goes and what remains.
Site visit
We check how the building is framed, where the services enter, how trucks and machines get in, and what stands on either side.
Scope and quote in writing
You get a written scope listing removals, protections and haul-off, with any item that hangs on the asbestos survey called out.
Survey, notice and permit
A licensed asbestos survey, the DERM notice where it applies, the utility disconnects, then the permit from the city or the county.
Take-down and hauling
Work runs in the agreed sequence. Loads go to permitted facilities, and we keep the tickets.
Final and closeout
The inspector signs off the permit. You are left with a clean lot, or the shell you asked us to keep.
Commercial demolition throughout Miami-Dade, including Miami, Miami Beach, Hialeah, Coral Gables, Doral, Homestead, Miami Gardens, North Miami, North Miami Beach, Aventura, and every other Miami-Dade city.
More demolition
Other work we quote
- Interior demolitionCondo units, offices and retail space taken back to the shell, in the right order.Interior demolition in Miami-Dade →
- Selective demolitionRemove one part of a building and keep the rest standing and in service.Selective demolition in Miami-Dade →
- House demolitionA full teardown of a single-family home, from permit to a graded lot.House demolition in Miami-Dade →
- Structural demolitionUnsafe or failed structures taken down under an engineer's plan and the county's order.Structural demolition in Miami-Dade →
- Concrete removalSlabs, driveways, footings and hardscape broken out, hauled and graded.Concrete removal in Miami-Dade →
- Pool removalIn-ground pools filled in or removed, with groundwater and backfill planned.Pool removal in Miami-Dade →
- Mobile home demolitionManufactured and mobile homes taken down and hauled, additions and pads included.Mobile home demolition in Miami-Dade →
- Storm damage demolitionHurricane- and flood-damaged structures taken down or opened up for repair.Storm damage demolition in Miami-Dade →
- Site clearingLots cleared of structures, slabs, debris and brush, with tree permits in order.Site clearing in Miami-Dade →
- Asbestos coordinationLicensed asbestos survey, abatement and the DERM notice, arranged in order.Asbestos coordination in Miami-Dade →
- Accessory structure demolitionDetached garages, sheds, carports, screen rooms and guest houses removed.Accessory structure demolition in Miami-Dade →
- Something else?Your job is not listed? We still quote it. Call and walk us through it.Call (305) 760-9827 →
Every type, every size, all of Miami-Dade
Tell us what is coming down. We will put a quote on it.
Romco Builders is a licensed Florida general contractor, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale. A single interior partition or a complete building gets the same thing: a written scope and a quote.