Demolition Contractors in Smyrna, GA

A lot of the calls we get for demolition contractors in Smyrna start with a small brick ranch on a good lot. Smyrna had just 2,005 residents in 1950. By 1960 it had 10,157, and by 1970 it had 19,157. That postwar wave filled the city with modest one-story houses on slab or crawlspace foundations, and many of them are now being replaced by larger homes or taken down to the studs and rebuilt.

What postwar houses are like to take down

Houses from the 1950s and 1960s are usually simple to demolish once the preparation is done, but the preparation matters. Many have plaster or early drywall, old floor tile and mastic, pipe insulation and siding that should be tested for asbestos before anything is disturbed. Some older lots may also hide an abandoned oil tank or septic system. We check for all of that on the walk-through and plan the order of work around it: test, abate if needed, disconnect utilities, then demolish and haul.

A city that rebuilt its own downtown

Smyrna was incorporated under that name in 1872. In 1991 the city began its Market Village redevelopment downtown, which brought a community center and a 28,000-square-foot public library. Since then, infill around the downtown core and along the main corridors has kept older buildings coming down. From 2000 to 2012, Wikipedia notes, the city grew by 28 percent, and the 2020 census counted 55,663 residents in 26,415 housing units.

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History you can still find on the ground

Two Civil War battles were fought here on the same day, July 4, 1864: the Battle of Smyrna Camp Ground and the Battle of Ruff's Mill. Sherman's troops burned the area's businesses, homes and the 1849 covered bridge, which was later rebuilt. Very little from before the war survives, but older lots can still turn up old foundations, cisterns or buried debris when a slab or driveway comes out. We look for those during excavation rather than assuming the ground is clean.

Small jobs count too

Not every Smyrna project is a full house. We regularly take down detached garages and carports, old sheds, rotted decks and screened porches, and break out driveways, patios and walks that have heaved or cracked. For partial jobs we protect the rest of the house and yard, keep the work zone small and haul everything the same day where we can.

Permits and disconnects in Cobb County

Smyrna issues its own building permits. Before a structure comes down, the power, gas and water have to be shut off and the sewer capped by the right providers, and erosion control has to be in place on any lot where soil will be disturbed. Smyrna sits at about 1,060 feet, and bare clay washes quickly after a storm, so silt fence goes in before the excavator does. Call (470) 260-8440 to set up a free walk-through.