Garages, carports and sheds
Independence Demolition Pros: Garage Demolition in Independence, Missouri
Sagging one-car garages off the alley, two-car garages with a cracked slab, carports and sheds, taken down and hauled in a day or two.
- Independence and 10 towns within 20 miles
- Written price before any work starts
- City permit, utility and asbestos steps explained
- Local, licensed, insured contractors
Independence Demolition Pros connects Independence owners with local contractors for garage demolition, which is the most common small teardown in the city: a 1920s one-car garage off a Mount Washington alley, a block garage behind a 1950s ranch in the Englewood area, or a pole-built carport that a storm has leaned. The job is small enough to finish in a day and big enough to need a permit, a machine and a truck.
Leaving the old slab under a new garage saves $800 to $1,500 on demolition day, but a new slab poured over a cracked one cannot be inspected or tied to proper footings, and tearing both out later costs more than the first one did.
What it costs
$2,600 to $4,200
The published range for a one to two car garage demolition in Kansas City, Missouri (HomeBlue, May 2024). Leaving the slab in place sits near the bottom; removing a thick slab with a turned-down footing, or a block garage with a concrete floor, sits near the top.
Calls answered Monday to Friday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
When a garage is ready to come down
- Roof framing sagging between the walls, with daylight at the eaves
- Walls racked out of square so the overhead door no longer tracks
- A slab heaved and cracked by the clay underneath, pulling the sill plates apart
- Rot at the bottom of the studs from decades of splash-back
- Storm damage that an insurer has already priced as a loss
- A new garage or an addition planned on the same footprint
With the slab or without it
The first question on the walk-through is whether the slab goes. If a new garage is going on the same spot, it usually does, because the new footings need undisturbed ground and the old slab is in the way. If the space is going back to lawn, the slab comes out so the lot drains and mows. If a patio or a parking pad is the plan, a sound slab can stay and save the breaker work. A skid steer with a hydraulic breaker takes out a typical two-car slab in a few hours, and the concrete goes to a recycler rather than the landfill.
Permits for a garage in Independence
A detached garage is a structure, so it takes the same City demolition permit as a house, at the lowest fee tier of $200 for up to 1,000 square feet. The application asks for a site plan and the insurance certificate naming the City, and if the garage has power, the City pulls the meter or the contractor has the circuit killed at the house panel. There is no sewer to kill on most garages, which makes the inspection list short.
- Permit
- City of Independence demolition permit, $200 under 1,000 sq ft
- Power
- Killed at the panel or the meter pulled before the walls come down
- Machine
- Mini excavator or skid steer; a grapple for the roof, a breaker for the slab
Want a garage gone before the next storm season?
Say where it is, whether the slab stays, and whether a machine can reach it from the alley or the drive. A local contractor prices it in writing.
Call (816) 846-2347Alley access and tight lots
Older Independence neighborhoods put the garage at the back of the lot on an alley, and the alley is often the only way a machine and a roll-off can reach it. A mini excavator fits where a full-size one cannot, and a dump trailer can replace a roll-off on a narrow lot. Tell the contractor about overhead service drops, fences and the neighbor's garage wall, since the quote should say how each one gets protected.
Garages in the towns around Independence
The same job in Raytown or Gladstone goes through that city's building office rather than Independence Community Development, and a Lee's Summit shed of 120 square feet or less needs no permit at all. A barn or outbuilding on an acreage is the same work at a larger scale.
Garage Demolition available in
Frequently asked questions
What owners ask before a teardown
How much does garage demolition cost in Independence?
Published Kansas City figures run $2,600 to $4,200 for a one to two car garage. Removing a thick slab or a block garage with a concrete floor pushes it toward the top.
Do I need a permit to tear down a detached garage?
Yes, inside Independence. A detached garage is a structure under the City's demolition rules and takes the same permit as a house, at the $200 tier for anything under 1,000 square feet.
What are the signs a garage should come down instead of being repaired?
A sagging roof, racked walls, rotted stud bottoms and a heaved slab usually arrive together, and at that point a repair costs more than a new garage on a new slab.
Can the concrete slab stay?
If nothing is being built on it and it drains, yes. If a new garage is going on the footprint, the slab comes out so the new footings can be placed and inspected.
Can a machine get to a garage on an alley?
Usually. A mini excavator and a dump trailer fit most alleys and side yards. The contractor checks overhead lines, fences and the neighbor's wall on the walk-through and prices the protection into the quote.