Demolition Contractors in Glendale, CA

Homeowners and builders hiring demolition contractors in Glendale are working in a city that has been rebuilding itself for decades. Glendale incorporated in 1906, counted 196,543 residents in 2020, and sits mostly in the Verdugo Mountains region about 10 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. Wikipedia notes that in the 1980s many single-family homes in south Glendale were demolished to make room for apartments and condominiums, a boom that made the city grow far faster than the county around it. Teardowns are part of Glendale's story, and the city's permit desk sees them often.

Earthquake history in the walls

The 1971 San Fernando earthquake caused major damage to 31 structures in Glendale that had to be demolished, and numerous chimneys collapsed. The 1994 Northridge earthquake damaged a public parking structure and parts of the Glendale Galleria parking decks. Known faults in and around the city include the Sierra Madre, Hollywood, Verdugo, Raymond and San Gabriel faults. In older Glendale houses we still find brick chimneys that were patched rather than rebuilt, so we take them down by hand from the top rather than letting them fall.

Hillside access

Foothill streets are narrow and steep, and that drives how a job is staged. A full-size excavator may not fit, so hillside teardowns often use smaller machines, more hand work and more truck trips. We walk the street with you, check where a bin can legally sit, and plan for neighbors' driveways before we commit to a schedule.

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Older commercial buildings

Glendale's downtown has buildings with real history, from the 1925 Hotel Glendale, once the city's tallest at six stories, to the 1942 WPA-era City Hall. For commercial tenants and owners, our work there is usually interior: stripping old tenant improvements, removing dropped ceilings and partitions, and clearing floors for a new layout.

The asbestos step

Glendale's Building and Safety Division uses an acknowledgement form for South Coast AQMD Rule 1403. It says the rule applies to any renovation or demolition, that an asbestos survey report is required before demolition regardless of the structure's age, and that all demolitions require a notification. The owner certifies the survey was done by a Cal/OSHA Certified Asbestos Consultant. We schedule that survey at the start, since its results decide whether abatement comes first.

What we take on in Glendale

• Whole-house teardowns for new homes and multi-unit projects
• Garage and accessory building removal, including making room for an ADU
• Interior demolition of kitchens, baths and full floors
• Concrete removal of driveways, patios, retaining footings and slabs
• Pool removal with backfill and compaction for a buildable yard

Call (213) 377-6198 and tell us what is on the lot and what comes next.