Strip Out Demolition in Perth — Internal Demolition Done Properly

What is strip out demolition?

Strip out demolition is the removal of a building's internal fit-out — tiles, fixtures, cabinetry, floor coverings, partitions, ceilings — while the structure itself stays standing. It is sometimes called internal demolition or a soft strip, and it is the first physical stage of nearly every renovation, refurbishment and end-of-lease make-good in Perth.

The distinction matters because internal demolition Perth renovators actually need is rarely the wrecking-ball kind. It is careful, sequenced removal: protecting what stays, stripping what goes, sorting the waste, and handing over a shell that a builder can measure, waterproof and fit out without touching a crowbar.

What does a full strip out include?

Whatever the renovation needs gone. The common packages:

• Bathroom demolition — wall and floor tiles, bath, shower, vanity, toilet, out to bare walls and slab.
• Kitchen demolition — cabinet removal, benchtops, splashbacks and appliances.
• Office strip outs — partitions, suspended ceilings, workstations and floor coverings for make-good or refit.
• Floor and tile removal — coverings and adhesive ground off, down to a clean slab or subfloor.
• Internal wall removal — stud and masonry walls removed to open up a floor plan.

On a whole-house strip these run as one sequenced job: fixtures first, then coverings, then linings and partitions, with waste sorted as it comes out rather than piled in the driveway.

Residential or commercial — what changes?

The method is the same; the constraints are different. A residential strip out in a Subiaco cottage or a Morley brick-and-tile is about dust control, protecting the rooms that stay, and dealing with double brick — Perth's signature construction, where even "just a wall" means a masonry saw and a few tonnes of rubble. A commercial strip out perth landlords require at end of lease is about lift access, after-hours windows, building management rules and getting a tenancy back to base building condition by a lease date. Both end the same way: an empty, swept shell and a handover walk-through.

What stays protected while the rest comes out?

Everything you are keeping — and that gets agreed in writing at the walk-through, not assumed. On a typical job that means floor protection along every cartage route, dust barriers sealing the work zone off from occupied rooms, doorways and stair balustrades sheeted where rubble passes them, and retained fixtures (a fireplace, original jarrah floors under old carpet, leadlight windows in a Fremantle or Subiaco cottage) physically covered before the first tile comes off. Services are part of the same conversation: your electrician and plumber isolate and cap what is being removed, and everything still live is marked so it stays that way.

The reason to be pedantic about this stage is simple economics — in renovation demolition, the expensive mistakes are almost never in what was removed. They are in what got damaged on the way past.

Who actually does the work?

This site connects your enquiry with independent demolition contractors working across the Perth metro area. We ask the contractors we work with to hold the relevant WorkSafe WA licences and public liability cover — ask to see them before work starts. For context: WA runs two demolition licence classes (Class 1 and Class 2) under the Work Health and Safety (General) Regulations 2022, each valid for 3 years, and licensed demolition work must be notified to the WorkSafe Commissioner at least 5 working days before it begins. Not every strip out is licensable work — see WorkSafe WA's demolition page for where the line sits.

Do you need a demolition permit?

Usually not for a pure internal strip — but check before assuming. Demolition permits in WA (the BA5 application under section 20 of the Building Act 2011) are issued by your local government and are aimed at demolishing buildings or incidental structures, not at pulling out a kitchen. Structural changes such as removing a load-bearing wall can trigger permit requirements, and each of Perth's 30-odd councils runs its own counter. Our Permits page walks through what applies when; confirm the final answer with your council before work is booked.

What about asbestos?

Any Perth building from before 1990 should be treated as a maybe until tested. Under WA's WHS regulations, removing more than 10 square metres of non-friable asbestos — or any amount of friable asbestos — requires a licensed asbestos removalist, with WorkSafe notified at least 5 days before licensed removal starts. If sampling finds asbestos in your walls, ceilings or vinyl, that removal is scheduled as its own licensed stage before the general strip out begins. It is never something to have a general labourer "just get rid of".

What does a strip out cost in Perth?

Cost is driven by area, materials (tile and double brick cost more to remove than carpet and plasterboard), access for bins, and any asbestos stage. Every job is priced as a fixed written quote after a walk-through — see Pricing for typical Perth ranges by job type.

From Fremantle to Joondalup, Midland to Cockburn Central: call (08) 6171 2654 and describe what needs to come out.