Dutch John was built starting in 1957 to house the crews building Flaming Gorge Dam, and plenty of the buildings in town have been standing a long time. Some still have good bones. Others have reached the point where fixing the roof, the siding, and the foundation would cost more than starting over. When that happens, demolition clears the way.
We start by walking the building with you and talking through the steps that have to happen first, including the asbestos inspection Utah requires and getting the utilities disconnected. Once that is done, we take the structure down in a controlled order, break out the foundation if you want it gone, and haul off every load. Dutch John is a planned trip for our crews, so we schedule the teardown and hauling together and keep the site moving until it is clean.
We know the rules that apply to older Dutch John buildings and plan the asbestos and notice steps before trip day.
We bring demolition, loading, and hauling equipment together so the building comes down and leaves on the same trip.
If interior demolition or repairs would serve you better than a full teardown, we will tell you that up front.
We haul off debris, pick up nails and small scraps, and leave the ground level and safe to walk.
Dutch John began as a Bureau of Reclamation town in 1957, when around 3,500 people lived here during the peak of dam construction. The town shrank a lot after Flaming Gorge Dam was finished in 1964, and the townsite stayed in federal hands until it was privatized in 1998. Many of the homes, garages, and sheds standing today come from that early government era or the decades right after.
That age matters for demolition. Older buildings were put together with materials that are not used anymore, and some of them need special handling before a teardown can start. Many have also been added onto over the years, with a porch here and a converted garage there, so what looks like one simple building can turn out to be several pieces built decades apart. We look closely at how each part was framed before we decide the order it comes down in.
Before any building in Dutch John comes down, Utah DAQ wants it inspected for asbestos. The main exemption is residential buildings with four or fewer units that were built in 1992 or later, which leaves out almost everything from the dam construction years. After the inspection, there is also a demolition notice with a waiting period of about 10 working days before work can begin.
Asbestos can turn up in older siding, roofing, flooring, pipe wrap, and some textured finishes. If the inspection finds it, that material has to be dealt with properly before we tear down. We help you plan these steps into the schedule so the trip out to Dutch John is not wasted waiting on paperwork.
Most demolition jobs in a town this size are residential or small commercial. Common projects include:
If the outside of the building is solid and only the inside is worn out, interior demolition in Dutch John may be a better fit. Stripping a building down to the frame can cost less than a full teardown and rebuild.
With about 44 inches of snow a year, Dutch John is hard on older roofs. A garage or shed that has been sagging for a few winters can give way under a heavy storm, and a half collapsed building is dangerous to leave standing. If you have a structure like that, it is worth planning the teardown during the warmer months before another winter adds weight.
We take damaged buildings down from the top in a planned order instead of pulling at whatever is loose, which keeps the work zone safer and the debris easier to sort. Snow damaged buildings also tend to hide rot and broken framing, so we treat every one as weaker than it looks and keep people well back while it comes down.
Power, gas, water, and sewer need to be disconnected by the right providers before demolition starts. If the foundation or slab is coming out, that is digging, and Utah Blue Stakes has to be called at least 3 business days ahead, no more than 14 calendar days ahead. The ticket is good for 21 days, and the party digging makes the call. When we are digging, we take care of it.
Foundations, footings, and old concrete slabs can be broken out and hauled with our concrete and asphalt removal work as part of the same job.
Once the building is down, we sort and load the debris and haul it to approved disposal and recycling sites. Then we pick up the small stuff and leave the ground level. If you plan to rebuild, grading for the new building pad can follow right after so your next project starts on a clean, prepared site.
We walk the building and site with you, note age, materials, utilities, access, and what is staying on the lot.
You get a written quote covering teardown, foundation work, hauling, and the asbestos and notice steps to plan around.
After inspections, notice, and disconnects are done, we take the structure down in order and haul every load out.
We walk the cleared site with you, confirm the debris is gone, and talk about grading or rebuilding next.
