Choosing the right kind of demolition

Full demolition

The whole structure comes down and the site is cleared to open ground. This is the right answer for a building that is beyond repair, an outbuilding in the way of something else, or a lot being prepared for a new build. It is the fastest kind per cubic foot, and the one where debris volume dominates the cost.

Selective, or soft, demolition

Only some of the structure comes out and the rest stays standing and intact. Interior strip-outs, removing a wall, taking out cabinets, flooring or a ceiling. Slower and more careful than a full teardown because everything that stays has to survive, but it is what a renovation actually needs.

Single-element removal

A deck, a shed, a fence, a hot tub, a playset, a pergola. Small, self-contained, and usually done in a day. Worth treating as its own category because people often assume it is too small to be worth a contractor - it is not.

How to tell which you need

Ask what is still standing when the job finishes. Nothing means full demolition. The building, minus its insides, means selective. One item gone and everything else untouched means single-element. That question also sorts out most of the ambiguity in a quote.

What changes the price

Access more than size, in most cases - whether a machine can reach the structure at all. Then debris volume, then whether anything hazardous is present, then whether the surrounding structure has to be protected. A quote that has not asked about access has not really quoted the job.