What Property Owners Should Remove Before Demolition

What Flathead County adds to the list

Two local items belong on the pre-demolition checklist here. Utility disconnection has to be confirmed by the utility itself in writing — a meter that looks pulled is not a disconnection, and no contractor's assurance substitutes for the utility's own sign-off. And for anything built before the early 1980s, assume asbestos and lead paint are possible until an assessment says otherwise; abatement is licensed work that happens before demolition, not during it.

Ground disturbance around the structure also triggers the county's noxious weed requirements. Disturbed soil is where invasive species establish, and Montana law puts the control duty on the landowner — the Flathead County Weed Control District administers the program but does not treat private property, so the plan and the work both stay with the owner.

Take what's worth taking

Walk every room, attic, crawl space, and outbuilding corner with three questions — keep, sell, or let it go:

• Sentimental and irreplaceable items first — photos, records, the things nobody prices
• Fixtures and materials with resale or reuse value: appliances, cabinets, doors, sound lumber, metal worth scrapping
• Anything you intend to reuse on the rebuild — decided now, not mid-teardown
• Personal property in outbuildings — the shed everyone forgot is the classic loss

Handle what the crew legally can't

Household hazardous material — paint, solvents, fuel, propane bottles, chemicals — doesn't ride in demolition debris; it goes through proper disposal channels before the machine arrives. Unknown containers get identified, not guessed at. And on older structures, the asbestos question is answered by inspection before teardown is scheduled — that sequencing is confirmed per project during the estimate.

Document and disconnect

Utilities must be verifiably dead before anything touches the structure: power, gas, water, and the septic or sewer connection all get disconnected through their providers, with confirmations kept. Photograph the structure inside and out before work — for insurance, for the county file, and occasionally for the memory. If a sale or lender needs proof the building is gone, say so up front; disposal documentation is easy to keep and hard to reconstruct.

Flag what stays

Mark the survivors clearly before demolition day: trees worth protecting, fences, the well head, septic components, buried lines you know about, the neighbor's anything. The crew plans machine paths and protection around what's flagged — and can't protect what nobody mentioned.

More on demolition

• Demolition Permit Considerations
• Utility Disconnection Responsibilities