Interior demolition in Fort Lauderdale for condo units, kitchens and bathrooms

01

Why a gutted room can't go out with Fort Lauderdale bulk

WM picks up bulk for the City of Fort Lauderdale once a month, and the pile can be no bigger than 10 cubic yards. That works for an old couch. It does not work for a remodel, because the city's list of things bulk will not take reads like the inside of a bathroom: concrete, tiles, pavers, dirt, sod and sand.

If you live in a condo or apartment, there is no city bulk pile to begin with. The city says those buildings contract directly with their own hauler, and that hauler is there for the building's trash, not your tear-out. And Fort Lauderdale is not on Broward County's list of cities whose residents can use the county bulk drop-off centers.

So the debris from a kitchen or bath needs its own ride out no matter who does the demo. That is why Dany prices the tear-out and the haul as one job. The rubble goes from your floor straight onto his truck, and nothing waits on the curb for a pickup date.

02

Fort Lauderdale permits: who pulls them and the interior-only checklist

Demolition permits in Fort Lauderdale go through the city's Development Services Department, Building Services. The city keeps a separate checklist just for interior-only demolition, apart from its full demolition package. The full package is for taking down a building and asks for things like a current survey, a Broward County asbestos statement, a sewer cap or septic abandonment permit and an FPL disconnect letter.

Rapid Haul does not pull permits. Your general contractor, or you as the property owner, handles the permit side. Dany's crew does the non-structural tear-out and the haul once the paperwork your project needs is in place. If you are not sure which checklist your job falls under, ask Development Services before you book the date.

or call (754) 249-1015

03

High-rise units downtown and around Las Olas

Downtown Fort Lauderdale around Las Olas Boulevard is full of high-rise condominiums, and a unit gut there is mostly a logistics job. Every bucket of tile and every sheet of drywall rides the service elevator, crosses a lobby or loading area, and has to be out within the hours the building allows.

Send Dany the building's contractor rules, the elevator booking and the approval letter when you have them. If management wants a certificate of insurance, Rapid Haul carries $1M general liability. A little over half of Fort Lauderdale homes are owner-occupied (54.1%, Census 2020 to 2024), so these calls come from owners redoing their own place and from landlords turning a unit over between tenants.

04

What the crew tears out, and where it stops

Interior demolition here means the finish work comes out and the bones stay. Typical scopes in Fort Lauderdale:

• Bathrooms taken to block and studs: tub, vanity, toilet, wall and floor tile
• Kitchens: cabinets, countertops, backsplash and old appliances
• Flooring down to the slab, from carpet and pad to tile and laminate
• Drywall and ceilings cut out after a leak or water damage
• Partition walls your builder confirms hold nothing up

or call (754) 249-1015

05

What a Fort Lauderdale room demo costs

Room demo starts at $750. Dany looks at photos of each wall, the floor and the route from the unit to the street, then gives one flat price that covers labor, tear-out, carrying, hauling and disposal. Stacked layers of tile, a long walk to the elevator and tight building hours push it up. A fiberglass tub surround and a ground-floor door push it down.

Jobs of $1,000 and over, which is where most full kitchens and whole-unit guts land, take a 50% deposit to hold the date. If your own crew already did the demo and just needs the pile gone, construction debris pickups start at $200, and same-day is often possible when you call early. Rapid Haul is based in Hollywood, just south of the city, and Dany answers (754) 249-1015 himself, Monday to Saturday, 7 AM to 7 PM.

06

A Fort Lauderdale bathroom Dany posted

One of Dany's own posts tagged Fort Lauderdale shows a bathroom taken down to block and studs. The full write-up with his photos is under Our Work, and it is a good look at what the room looks like when the crew leaves and the plumber walks in.