Complete Demolition Service LLC

03/31/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1KTFpbGUW9/

Public health officials are stepping in with guidance for neighbors as cleanup is underway at a Swanton house fire site where toxic insulation was discovered. - https://www.wcax.com/2026/03/30/toxic-insulation-found-swanton-house-fire-site/

03/25/2026

Happy to help find a forever home for these priceless documents with the Essex Historical Society!

10/19/2025

Our latest project started out as an asbestos inspection of flooring materials. Soon the project evolved into a partial building separation and demolition. This required careful planning and coordination between the general contractor and us to make sure that the structure that was being saved did not get damaged.

First step in the process was a full asbestos inspection of the part that was being demolished and then removal of the asbestos containing floor tiles.

The contractor shored up the part that was being saved, we needed to shore up a main carrying beam on the part being demolished, protect windows and doors, trench the buildings and then carefully dismantle the section being removed to avoid damage to the main house.

A big thanks to Blue Leaf Construction for trusting us with the project.

10/09/2025

Sadly on May 29, 2025 the owners of this once beautiful log cabin lost their home after a tragic house fire. The property owner was told that we were the company to hire for the job. He reached out to ask for a proposal and shortly thereafter asked us to start the removal. Vermont law requires that all demolition or renovation projects be inspected for asbestos prior to demolition. We performed the asbestos inspection in house and determined that the building was void of asbestos. The mandatory notification was filed with the state prior to starting work.

Before sending the logs to the landfill we consulted with Vermont DEC to see if the logs could be repurposed. Because the logs had been coated with a preservative we were instructed they had to be landfilled.

We had never demolished a log cabin before so we had to ask Casella Waste Management how to process the materials so it would be accepted by the landfill. All of the logs and beams had to be broken down into 4 to 6 foot lengths. This is so the materials can be compacted efficiently at the landfill. This required every log be manipulated by the grapple and broken multiple times. A very time consuming process.

In the end the project was a success and the customer is happy with the results.

09/10/2025

This past winter we were asked to look at a lakefront property on St. Albans Bay that had a devistating fire. The fire totally destroyed one third of the home, that portion needed a Complete Demolition. Due to not knowing where the septic system is located we provided timber matting to disperse the weight of machinery to protect the underground utilities. Lakefront replacement septic systems are expensive to design and build, protecting that asset was a top priority for us.

This project seems simple at first but take a second look! The requirement of preserving the brick wall adjacent to the structure being taken down, leaving the footprint of the foundation intact and the need for asbestos abatement on top of a tight jobsite made thing challenging.

We were able to pull the project off without a hitch with the use of our excavator that is equipt with a 360 degree rotating grapple. The grapple works like a hand and allows us to disassemble the structure piece by piece systematically without damage to the building that was only inches away.

If you have a difficult demolition project, need asbestos testing or anything demolition related give us a call, we're up for a challenge.

09/03/2025

Last month a homeowner called on a Friday with urgency in their voice. I made a trip to look at their burned house on a Sunday. I put a proposal together based on the owner specifications. After a few revisions we finally agreed on the scope and cost.

The challenges were to remove the house without damaging a water line that services another house and also keep the foundation intact. We suceeded at doing both for the property owner. In addition we helped salvage materials from a deck that was newly built.

08/18/2025

Sometime in late July we were approached by a family that recently had a devistating barn fire. The fire completely destroyed the barn and all of the contents inside. The barn was located in the back of the property with very poor site access. In addition to the barn there were other structures on the property that suffered damage from the fire that needed removal so we also agreed to take care of them at the same time.

Both owners, who are in their 70's, helped in any way possible to make the project go smoothly. Everything from, filing the demolition permit with the town, coordinating access with neighbors, trimming trees so equipment and trucks could access the structure, removing items they wanted to salvage and even removing and bagging up close to 40 cubic yards of loose styrofoam insulation!

The owners trusted with the project and had us do the work while they were both on a trip to China. Here are some photos of the project. We used our Caterpillar skid steer to take down some of the smaller structures to avoid damage to the foundation by our Volvo EC210.

Our 50,000 lb Volvo excavator is equipt with a 360 degree rotating grapple, this attachment allowed us to work with precision in the limited space of this jobsite. The grapple gives us greater control and dexterity than a conventional digging bucket. We are able to sort almost 99% of all metal from the debris, for recycling, keeping this valuable resource from being landfilled.

06/13/2025

Today we proudly awarded William Boyd the Dollars For Trades Scholarship. William is pursuing a career in the maritime trades. Congrats to William!

This scholarship was founded in 2023 and is awarded to a BFA Fairfax student who is pursuing a career in the trades. The scholarship is generously funded by past BFA students, community members, and local businesses, including Complete Demolition Service LLC, Jean Schneider Shea, Louise Shea, Stephen Vowles, Tom Feerick, Michael Millette, and Noelle K Federico.

04/25/2025

This ranch style home was purchased by the Town of Milton so that the land could be used for more housing. Here you see our Volvo EC210 LC fitted with a Teran 360 Degree rotating grapple demolishing the structure.

Click the link to see the video.

04/17/2025

Last fall one of our trusted business partners referred us to this client after two asbestos test companies refused to enter the building out of concerns for their safety. Somebody had suggested to the property owner that the entire house should be handled as asbestos. We disagreed with that and made the suggestion that testing the building was the best and most cost effective route. Any materials that tested postive for asbestos would be abated and demo the rest as clean waste.

We decided to take a look at the house, that had been occupied by a hoarder, decided that the place was gross but that it wasn't going to fall down on us. The smell inside was a mix of rodent & animal f***s, rotten food, garbage, gross perfume and body odor, needless to say we put on our P100 respirators.

Once fitted with PPE we began the asbestos inspection. Some of the building materials came back positive for asbestos but to abate the materials the rooms need to be cleared. We then moved the piles of vermin infested rotten food hoard out of the way so the abatement crew could start.

Once the abatement had been complete, we had planned on starting the demolition. Unfortunately mother nature decided to give us a real Vermont winter creating a hazzardous jobsite. Due to the weather, ice and snow, the steep terrain we could not risk bringing tracked machine and trucks to the jobsite during winter conditions The steel tracks of an excavator are like ice skates on frozen slick ground. Once an excavator starts to slide there is no way to stop it, we feared that the machine might land in the heavily travelled road below.

Check out the photos of the house both exterior and interior, and the finished project. Sorry there aren't that many photos of the house being taken down, we were short on help and were too busy taking care of business.

03/24/2025

A recent project we completed for a client who's home burned in Swanton. Another contractor had started the demolition shortly after the fire occurred. Soon after it was determined that the building debris contained asbestos. We were hired to abate the building debris and provide disposal. Due to the accumulation of snow over the winter the debris was extremely water saturated and heavy. The highly water saturated jobsite also required several loads of stone to shore up the driveway so trucks and equipment didn't get stuck.

Did you know that it's the law to have an asbestos inspection completed prior to Demolition or renovation of all buildings in Vermont? We are VT Licensed asbestos inspectors and can inspect your project as part of our portfolio of services.