Demolition contractor, Buckhorn and Trent Lakes
Cottage, house, garage and outbuilding teardowns across the Harvey, Galway and Cavendish wards. Send the form and an owner calls you back today.
Most calls for a demolition contractor in Buckhorn and Trent Lakes are about an old cottage on Pigeon, Buckhorn or Lovesick Lake coming down so a new one can go up. Here the demolition permit also becomes the record of what stood on the lot, and that record matters when the rebuild sits inside the 30 metre water setback. We are based in Bobcaygeon, one crew with our own machines, and an owner is on every job from the first visit to final grade.
A whole structure down and the site cleared: the house, cottage, barn or outbuilding comes down, the debris is hauled away and the lot is graded for whatever comes next.
In-ground or above-ground: the concrete or liner comes out, the hole is filled and compacted in lifts, and you get a yard ready for grass or a build.
We run our own excavators and skid steers, so the teardown, the haul-away and the final grade are one crew's work, with an owner on every job.
We take whole structures down. We do not do interior tear-outs, kitchen or bathroom demo, or renovation prep. If you need a wall opened for a reno, we will point you to someone who does that work.
The Municipality of Trent Lakes Building Department issues demolition permits through Cloudpermit. The application takes pages 1 and 2 of the building permit form, a site plan drawn to the Building By-law, and a photo of each side of the structure. Depending on the lot, Kawartha Conservation, the Trent-Severn Waterway or the Ministry of Natural Resources may be part of the file. Under section 30 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the owner lists any designated substances on site, asbestos included, before a contract is signed. Where there is natural gas, only Enbridge Gas's own agents pull the meter, and an unused well is abandoned under Ontario's wells regulation.
Trent Lakes lies in the Land Between, where Gull River limestone of the southern lowlands meets the Precambrian Shield. A planning study on Buffalo Bay, off Pigeon Lake, found bedrock outcrops common and till only in the hollows between rock ridges, and the County describes these shorelands as thin soil over bedrock. Old cottage footings often rest right on rock or on a shallow pad of till, so a foundation breaks out more than it digs out. The hole is filled with clean imported fill, compacted, and graded so runoff moves away from the water.
Same-footprint rebuilds. The water setback section of the Trent Lakes Zoning By-law lets a building that legally stood inside the 30 metre setback on October 22, 2008, and was demolished by permit, be replaced on the same footprint, with no enlargement pushing further toward the lake. Since 2016 the Municipality also asks for an Ontario Land Surveyor's survey for work inside that setback, though the chief building official can accept a Surveyor's Real Property Report for a same-footprint rebuild.
“As a custom home builder, we love contracting Thor Construction Company for all of our demolition, excavation and septic work. They are easy to work with, have great equipment and know what they are doing. Our clients are always very happy with them.”
“Hired Thor for complete site services including bringing utilities into my new build and digging for foundation. Once the build was complete they came back and finish landscaped the property and we couldn't be happier. Strongly recommend!”
“I had a work related project with them and I must say the guys are outstanding. Honest, reliable and straightforward. Highly Recommended!”
In small amounts. The Bobcaygeon, Buckhorn, Cavendish and Crystal Lake sites all accept construction and demolition waste, but each visit is capped at two cubic yards, and loads are tarped and inspected at the gate. A whole cottage runs far past that, so we plan the haul as part of the job.
For anything on the lake bed, yes. Pigeon, Little Bald, Big Bald, Upper and Lower Buckhorn and Lovesick are Trent-Severn Waterway lakes, and Parks Canada permits the removal of works on or over the bed. The cottage itself goes through the Municipality. We sort out which pieces need which permit.
They set the working distance. The Trent Lakes building package passes on the Electrical Safety Authority's separations: 16.5 feet from main feeder lines and 10 feet from secondary lines. We have the service to the building disconnected first, then plan where each machine sits around any line that stays live.
Yes. Ontario's Building Code Act requires a permit to demolish a building, issued by your municipality's building department. We prepare the application and book the inspections.
Hydro, gas and water are disconnected and capped by the utilities before demolition starts, and many building departments ask to see that before they issue the permit. We make the requests and keep you posted.
Under Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act, the owner of a project determines whether designated substances such as asbestos are present before work starts. On older buildings we line up that check, and anything found is removed by an abatement contractor before we demolish.
Yes. Hauling the debris to proper disposal and recycling sites is part of the job and part of the written price you get after the site visit.
No. We take whole structures down: houses, cottages, barns, garages and pools. For kitchen, bathroom or renovation tear-outs we will point you to someone who does that work.
Yes. Tell us at the site visit what you want saved, and we set beams, barn board or brick aside before the rest comes down.
Every page has the local permit office, the ground and the rules for that area.
Send the form and an owner calls you back today. Or call now and talk to the person who will dig the job.
