House demolition · St. Lucie County
House demolition in Port St. Lucie and St. Lucie County
Knocking a house down is the smallest part of the job. What decides when it can happen sits on paper first: the utility letters, the asbestos statement, the septic tank and the right permit office.
Port St. Lucie publishes its demolition checklist. It asks for a letter from FPL and one from the city's Utilities Department confirming service has been removed, an Asbestos Notification Statement initialled by the owner, and a recorded Notice of Commencement when the work is valued at 5,000 dollars or more. An asbestos report is required only if asbestos has been found. Owner-builders also submit a recorded deed or property card and an affidavit.
Many Port St. Lucie houses still sit on septic. The city counted 12,717 tanks remaining at the start of 2025, and a tank taken out of service has to be abandoned under the state onsite sewage rule, and a licensed septic contractor does the work. We coordinate that work into the demolition sequence so the tank is dealt with properly instead of being crushed and buried.
In Fort Pierce the checklist differs. It asks for FPUA or FPL pre-approval for a full demolition, a Debris Affidavit, and an asbestos report on a house built before 1980. Unincorporated addresses go through the county, and St. Lucie Village through its own building official.
What replaces the house can shape the demolition. In Fort Pierce, new homes are designed for 150 mph winds west of 25th Street and 160 mph east of it, including the barrier island, so the builder's plans may decide whether the old slab stays or goes. We quote house demolition at any size.
Order of work
- Walk the lot and confirm which office permits the address.
- Request utility disconnects and arrange the asbestos survey or statement the office requires.
- Arrange septic abandonment and any tree permit through the licensed parties.
- File the demolition permit, record the Notice of Commencement, and file the FDEP notice.
- Demolish the house and separate metals and concrete for recycling.
- Remove the slab and footings to the agreed depth, backfill, and grade the lot.
Watch points
Where this kind of job runs into trouble, and how we handle it
A septic tank left in the ground
An unrecorded tank becomes the next builder's problem and a code issue. We locate it from the permit record or on site, and a licensed contractor abandons it under the state rule before the lot is graded.
Service still live at the meter
A disconnect requested is not a disconnect completed. The FPL, city utility or FPUA confirmation is in hand before any machine touches the house, and we verify on site that the service is dead.
Damage to neighbors' fences, drives and trees
Residential lots in St. Lucie County are often tight to their neighbors. We photograph adjoining property before work, set the machine's reach and the haul route away from it, and protect what sits close to the line.
Rubble buried in the lot
Footings and slab pieces left under fill cause trouble when the new foundation goes in. We remove foundations to the depth agreed with you or your builder, then backfill and compact with clean material.
Outside our scope
Septic abandonment, utility disconnects, asbestos surveys and abatement, and tree removal under a city permit belong to separately licensed firms working under our coordination. We never presume a lot is on sewer because the street is, and we do not assume an owner-builder exemption applies; the county allows it only for an owner who will occupy the home.
Questions
About house demolition
What does Port St. Lucie ask for before a house can be demolished?
Its checklist lists letters from FPL and the city's Utilities Department confirming service is removed, an owner-initialled Asbestos Notification Statement, and a recorded Notice of Commencement for work valued at 5,000 dollars or more. Owner-builders add a recorded deed or property card and an affidavit.
My house is on septic. What happens to the tank?
Florida Administrative Code Rule 62-6.011, administered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, governs abandoning a tank that is no longer used. A licensed septic contractor does that work, and we schedule it with the demolition.
Do I need a tree permit to clear the lot?
Port St. Lucie's tree ordinance protects trees of 12 inches in trunk diameter or more and native palms with at least 10 feet of clear trunk, but platted single-family lots are exempt. We check which applies to your parcel before any tree comes down.
What will my demolition cost in St. Lucie?
We put a number on it once we have seen the job, on site or through photos and plans that show enough. It turns on what the structure is built from, its footprint and height, what the asbestos survey finds, which services need disconnecting, whether a septic tank must be abandoned, how equipment gets in, what sits next door, what you want kept, and the haul to the disposal site. Two houses on the same Port St. Lucie street can quote quite differently, so we do not post rates.
Is any job too small or too large in size for you?
No. We quote a single shed, a screen enclosure, a pool, a mobile home or a full commercial building, and partial jobs where most of the structure stays. Tell us what is on the property and what must remain, and the quote follows that.
Is Romco Builders licensed?
Yes. Romco Builders is a licensed Florida general contractor with its office in Fort Lauderdale. Work that requires its own license, including asbestos abatement, electrical and plumbing disconnects, septic abandonment, mold remediation and tree removal, goes to firms holding that license, and we keep them on one schedule.
Start to finish
How a St. Lucie job moves
Reach out
Phone us or use the form. Include the address, what is coming down, what is staying, and photos or plans if you have them.
We look at the property
We check the structure, where power, water and sewer or septic connect, how equipment and trucks reach the work, and what is next door.
A written scope and quote
It lists what is removed, what is protected and what is hauled, and flags anything that depends on the asbestos survey.
Survey, notice, letters, permit
A licensed asbestos survey, the state demolition notice, the utility letters, then the permit from the city, town or county.
Demolition and hauling
Work follows the agreed order. Debris goes to permitted facilities, and the tickets are kept.
Final inspection
The inspector closes the permit. You get a cleared lot, or the shell you asked us to leave.
House demolition anywhere in St. Lucie, including Port St. Lucie, Tradition, St. Lucie West, Sandpiper Bay, Fort Pierce, Lincoln Park, St. Lucie Village, River Park, Lakewood Park, White City, and every other St. Lucie city.
Other work
More demolition we quote
- Interior demolitionStrip a suite or a house to the studs while the shell and its live systems stay intact.Interior demolition in St. Lucie →
- Selective demolitionTake out an addition, a wing or a bay and keep the building that remains in service.Selective demolition in St. Lucie →
- Commercial demolitionRetail, office and industrial buildings taken down, with approvals run in the right order.Commercial demolition in St. Lucie →
- Structural demolitionFrames, walls and floors taken down in order, including buildings under unsafe orders.Structural demolition in St. Lucie →
- Concrete removalSlabs, driveways, footings and foundations broken out, hauled and recycled.Concrete removal in St. Lucie →
- Pool removalBreak out the top and backfill, or lift the whole shell, with the drainage handled.Pool removal in St. Lucie →
- Mobile home demolitionSingle and double wides removed with chassis, tie-downs, add-ons and debris cleared.Mobile home demolition in St. Lucie →
- Storm damage demolitionHurricane, tornado and flood damage taken down with the record your insurer needs.Storm damage demolition in St. Lucie →
- Site clearingLots cleared of old structures, slabs and debris, with protected trees left in place.Site clearing in St. Lucie →
- Asbestos coordinationLicensed survey, FDEP notice and licensed abatement scheduled before demolition.Asbestos coordination in St. Lucie →
- Accessory structure demolitionSheds, detached garages, carports and screen enclosures removed under permit.Accessory structure demolition in St. Lucie →
- Something else?Not on the list? We still quote it. Call and talk us through the job.Call (772) 310-3298 →
Every type and size, all over St. Lucie County
Tell us what has to come down, and we will quote it.
Romco Builders is a licensed Florida general contractor, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale. One wall inside a house or an entire building gets the same thing from us: a written scope and a number.