AI estimating for demolition contractors
Demolition estimating software that prices on your numbers
Demolition estimating software reads the drawings and existing-conditions docs, measures the demo scope, and prices it against your own crew rates and disposal numbers so you can bid faster without losing the detail. Ruh runs the demolition takeoff software off your plans and demo plan, separates selective from structural work, sizes debris volume and haul loads, and flags hazmat or abatement areas as carve-outs. The AI produces the quantities and a priced sheet from your price book, and your estimator reviews every line before it goes in the bid.
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Book a walkthroughThe demolition estimating problems this solves
Debris volume and disposal loads get guessed, not measured
Disposal is one of the largest line items on a demo job, and it lives or dies on cubic yards. When you eyeball volume from a floor plan instead of building it up by assembly, you either pad the dumpster count and lose the bid or undercount and eat the overage on tipping fees. Converting demo area to loose debris cy, then to pull counts, is tedious math that rarely gets redone when scope changes.
Selective versus structural scope is hard to separate cleanly
A demo plan rarely draws a clean line between what comes down by hand and what needs structural removal with shoring or heavy equipment. Selective interior demo, slab saw-cutting, and full structural takedown all price differently, and mixing them into one square-foot number hides where the real labor and risk sit. When the architect revises the keep-or-remove notes, that whole split has to be re-sorted by hand.
Hazmat and abatement carve-outs blur the scope line
Asbestos, lead paint, and contaminated soil are usually somebody else's scope, but the demo estimate still has to fence them off cleanly and carry the right allowances. Miss a carve-out and you have priced abatement you are not licensed to do, or you have left a hole where the abatement sub plugs in. Tracking which areas are excluded, which carry an allowance, and which wait on a survey is easy to lose across a revision cycle.
What a demolition takeoff counts and measures
| Item | Unit | How it is measured and priced |
|---|---|---|
| Selective interior demo area | sf | Measured by room or zone off the demo plan, priced per sf by partition and finish type; non-structural walls, ceilings, flooring removed by hand or small equipment |
| Structural demo area | sf | Measured separately from selective; priced higher per sf to cover shoring, heavy equipment, and engineered sequencing |
| Slab and pavement removal | sf | Measured by thickness and reinforcement; saw-cut perimeter taken as lf, broken-out slab priced per sf and rolled into debris cy by depth |
| Debris volume | cy | Built up from demo area times depth times a bulking/swell factor per material; the controlling quantity for disposal pricing |
| Dumpster and haul loads | ea | Debris cy divided by effective container capacity (typically 30 or 40 cy roll-offs, derated for loose fill); priced as pulls plus tipping fee per load |
| Salvage credits | ea or lot | Reusable steel, fixtures, or equipment counted and credited against the bid; deducted from disposal volume when hauled separately |
| Saw-cutting and core drilling | lf or ea | Saw-cut runs measured in lf by depth; cores counted ea by diameter; priced as separate operations from bulk removal |
| Hazmat/abatement carve-out areas | sf or allowance | Flagged areas excluded from demo scope or carried as a dollar allowance pending survey; kept off the priced removal lines |
| Equipment and dump time | hr or day | Excavator, skid steer, and dump trucks priced by duration tied to debris cy and haul distance to the approved facility |
A worked demolition example
Small selective interior demo, single tenant suite. Demo plan shows 4,000 sf of non-structural partition and finish removal at an average debris depth of 0.5 ft, so loose volume is 4,000 sf times 0.5 ft = 2,000 cf, divided by 27 = 74 cy. Apply a 1.4 bulking factor for loose mixed debris: 74 cy times 1.4 = 104 cy. Using 40 cy roll-offs derated to 32 cy effective, that is 104 / 32 = 3.25, round up to 4 pulls. Disposal: 4 pulls times $625 per pull (haul plus tipping) = $2,500. Labor: 4,000 sf at $1.85 per sf = $7,400. Add saw-cutting 60 lf at $12 per lf = $720. Subtotal $2,500 + $7,400 + $720 = $10,620. Salvage credit for reclaimed HVAC units, lot at $400, nets to $10,220 before markup. The estimator confirms the bulking factor, pull count, and that no hazmat area sits inside the 4,000 sf.
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How Ruh runs your demolition estimates
Ruh ingests the demolition plan, existing-conditions drawings, and any abatement survey, then a demo sub-agent measures removal areas by zone and tags each as selective or structural off the keep-or-remove notes. It builds debris volume in cy using your material bulking factors, sizes dumpster pulls against your container capacities, and prices labor, equipment, and disposal from your own price book, applying salvage credits and fencing off hazmat areas as carve-outs or allowances. The estimator reviews the selective-versus-structural split, the bulking and pull-count math, and every carve-out boundary, with the AI's reasoning visible line by line. Nothing reaches the bid until the estimator signs off.
Demolition estimating software FAQs
How accurate is the demo takeoff, especially debris volume?+
Accuracy depends on the demo plan quality and the bulking factors you set. Ruh measures removal areas and builds volume in cy from depth and your material swell factors, then shows the math so your estimator can adjust the factor for a job that runs heavier or lighter than the default. It is a fast, auditable first pass, not a sealed number.
Does it price from our crew rates and disposal numbers or generic costs?+
Your price book drives every line. Labor per sf, equipment day rates, pull costs, and tipping fees come from your numbers, including your local facility and haul distances. If you have not loaded rates yet, Ruh produces clean quantities you can price in your own system.
Can it work with our current plans and estimating software?+
Yes. Ruh reads standard PDF demo plans and drawing sets, and exports quantities and priced lines you can drop into the estimating tool you already use. You are not replacing your workflow, you are removing the manual takeoff and disposal math in front of it.
What stays with the estimator versus the AI?+
The AI measures, splits selective from structural, sizes debris and haul loads, and prices against your book. The estimator owns judgment: confirming the keep-or-remove scope, setting bulking factors, validating hazmat carve-outs and allowances, and signing off on the bid. The AI never sends a number on its own.
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Figures on this page are illustrative. Construction estimates depend on project-specific conditions, source documents, market pricing, and professional judgment. Ruh's AI assists the estimator and does not replace professional review: your team reviews, validates, and approves every estimate, bid, and pricing decision.