We handle demolition in Oakland, from single houses to two and three story commercial buildings. Riverbank Environmental & Demolition has been a family company since 1967. Oakland is an old city by California standards. More than a third of its housing was built before 1939, against about 13 percent nationwide.
Old buildings mean asbestos, and in Oakland it turns up in floor tile, black mastic, pipe wrap, and ceiling texture. We do asbestos removal and abatement, interior demolition, residential demolition, and concrete demolition. We also take fire damage cleanup and land and site clearing. Our license numbers are CSLB #247684 and CAL OSHA #507.
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A demolition permit in Oakland comes from the Planning and Building Department. The permit center is downtown at 250 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. Oakland counts interior demolition as demolition once it passes ten percent of the building's replacement value. The Building Official sets that value, so gut jobs often need a demolition permit.
Oakland also wants a Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan approved before the permit issues. Asphalt and concrete are banned from the landfill, so all of it goes to recycling. At least 65 percent of every other material has to be recycled as well. Only authorized haulers may move the debris.
Asbestos sits in Oakland buildings put up from the early 1900s into the 1980s. Floor tile and its black glue are the usual find under carpet and laminate. Pipe wrap, duct insulation, joint compound, and roofing felt hold it too. We run asbestos abatement in Oakland buildings under containment before anything comes down.
Before any Oakland teardown, the Bay Area Air District needs notice under Regulation 11, Rule 2. That notice runs ten working days ahead of every demolition, asbestos or not. Homes with four units or fewer can use a 72 hour notice for an added fee. The district issues a J number, and Oakland will not release the demolition permit without it.
Oakland became the western end of the First Transcontinental Railroad in 1869. The Southern Pacific shops in West Oakland went up in brick from about 1874 to 1918. That ground is now part of the Port of Oakland. Brick and heavy timber buildings from the same years still stand around West Oakland and the Jack London District.
We take on commercial building demolition in Oakland on lots hemmed in by truck routes and rail. Brick and heavy timber need a different take down order than wood frame houses. Flooring removal and surface preparation run on water blasting at 40,000 psi, which lifts old mastic and coatings. From Oakland, we also handle demolition across the bay in San Francisco.
Oakland's Cultural Survey marks some blocks as Areas of Primary Importance. Taking down a rated historic building there calls for findings and a Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board review. Old Oakland's Victorian storefronts downtown date to the 1870s. Several sat condemned and padlocked by the 1970s, and buildings at Eighth and Washington came down.
Oakland has taxed vacant property since voters passed Measure W in 2018. A property counts as vacant when it is in use fewer than 50 days a year. Empty buildings draw fire, and Oakland has lost vacant houses and warehouses that way. Our fire damage cleanup takes out the burned structure and the wet, charred material left behind.
Communities & areas we serve around Oakland: Fruitvale, West Oakland, Temescal, Rockridge, Laurel District, Dimond District, Old Oakland, Jack London District.
Oakland ZIP codes served: 94601, 94602, 94606, 94607, 94610, 94612.
We handle asbestos removal and abatement for homes and commercial buildings across Northern California. Work runs under sealed containment with negative air machines, and the waste goes to a landfill approved to take it.
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We handle residential demolition across Northern California. That covers whole houses, garages, sheds, and mobile homes. Work starts with an asbestos survey and permits, then the teardown and haul-off. A family company since 1967.
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Commercial demolition for retail buildings, small offices, warehouses and ag structures. We handle the asbestos abatement, the utility cuts, the teardown and the debris loads. Buildings up to two or three stories are our size range.
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Interior demolition for remodels and tenant improvements across the Central Valley and Bay Area. We gut spaces down to the studs and hand back a clean shell your builder can start in.
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We break out and haul away old concrete. Driveways, garage slabs, patios, walkways, foundations and footings all come out the same way. Broken concrete goes to a recycling yard and gets crushed into base rock.
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Fire damage cleanup starts once the fire is out and the building is cold. We take down burned structures and haul the debris to permitted disposal sites. The lot is left clear for your rebuild contractor.
View DetailsA few of the questions we hear most around Oakland. If yours is not here, call and ask. The person who answers runs the jobs.
A building that needs to come down, a space to gut, asbestos in the survey, or a fire to clean up after? Call or send the form. We look at the property, price the job in person, and give you a number that holds. Estimates are free.
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