Demoing an Old House to Build an ADU

Reusing Timber from Demolished Garage in ADU Project

Hey, Good morning, everyone. Today I am updating you on a project we have just started. You can see the demos in the back here behind me. We’ve been tearing down an old house, building an ADU right where this thing’s at, and saving a little bit of it. I wanted to give you a little walk around the job and show you what’s happening here. We’re going to go ahead and get started. What we’re looking at here is the driveway that was going into the old garage. You can see some of these beams here that were removed. They’re keeping a few of these here, but some of them got chewed up a little during the demo, but there’s some good timber still left in there.

Retaining Electrical Panels to Power Flow During ADU Construction

You can see the outside wall of the garage. This is where the new electrical panels are on the side. We had to save this here, and the new services come in here, feeding a pool on the property. So we got to keep this power up and running so you can see what was there, and this continued over. So we had to get that temped up and braced up so it didn’t fall over whenever they were demoing, and then they cut it all loose.

Demolishing Concrete Flatwork for ADU Construction

You can see where they did some cutting up top to cut everything loose before they tore the rest of the building down so it didn’t fall over. Now everything in front of me here, all this concrete flatwork’s got to get busted out. It’s the wrong elevation for the new garage, and returning with a new one is easier. This is all going to get broke out. It still has to happen.

ADU Begins with the Demolition of the Old Conduit and Slab

If you look over here, you can see the edge of the wall where it used to be. And this is where all the old conduit had come into the house. Down here, this is the edge of the slab. You can’t hardly see it because there’s so much debris here. But where this wall is at here, this is where the foundations are at.

Tearing Down Using an Excavator in ADU Construction

This is the weep screed from the stucco. This is higher here. That foundation’s going to stay. And then there are some areas where we have to pour some to raise it in the back. They’ve been using this excavator here, and then they got a skid steer in the back. So this excavator makes quick work of this thing. It’s got this big old thumb on it. You’ve probably seen this in some of our other videos, but this big old thumb clamps this debris from this house and tears it down so fast.

Using Skid Steer and Direct Loading for Cleanup in ADU Construction

You can see the skid steer down here they’re using to push things around and get it piled up, and they’ll take this and drop it directly into the truck. They’re just picking it up, dropping it into a truck, and it makes real quick work as far as getting it out of here. So there’s less cleanup, but look at the size of this panel that was in here before. So this was the electrical service. It’s just huge.

Saving a Two-Story Masonry Fireplace During ADU Construction

This fireplace is interesting. It’s a masonry fireplace, and we brought the mason out here to check to ensure it was a good fireplace before we tried to save it. But you could look at this thing, and it goes up. It was two stories tall, and you see where the roof tied in right there, and it’s still in good shape. And the guys were able to cut around it, so they relieved all the wood attached to it, and then they could demo around it and save it without it collapsing.

CMU Block and Concrete Slab Extended Process Explained

Preparing for Construction and Cleanup of a Site

All right, well, these guys will keep doing this demo today. They said today, they’re going to get all the debris into the trucks, get it out of here, should have a clean slab as far as the flatwork, and the foundation’s going to stay. So on Monday, they’ll come back in here and pop all the concrete and then haul that off, doing a little final cleanup. And then this thing should be ready to roll as far as starting to get the construction going on.

Building a Custom Home, ADU, or Remodeling Project

Thanks for watching today. Feel free to contact us if you need more information on building a custom home, building an ADU, or doing a whole house remodeling project, feel free to contact us. We have a ton of information on pricing, floor plans, and a huge FAQ section. Thanks again for watching, and we’ll see you soon.