Knock-down-rebuild and demolition in Traralgon

The Traralgon houses that come down

Older Traralgon houses fall into three broad groups. There are the railway cottages south of the line around Queen's Parade, from the years after the railway depot opened in 1903. There are the APM and Housing Commission houses of the late 1930s to the early 1950s: APM's company estates, laid out with generous open space, and the Commission's 199 houses around Gordon Street, finished in 1952. And there are the brick veneers from the Loy Yang years of the 1970s and 80s.

All three predate 1990, which is the year Latrobe City's fact sheet uses as the line for "probably contains asbestos". Eaves, wet areas, vinyl floors, the old switchboard, a fibro fence and a back shed are the usual list. More on the eras at Traralgon homes.

Council consent in Latrobe City: section 29A

Demolishing a house needs a building permit from a building surveyor. On top of that, Latrobe City's consent is needed for the demolition of any building except domestic sheds, and for altering or demolishing a building's facade. Your building surveyor lodges the demolition consent form with the fee under section 29A of the Building Act. Council's online form calls this step a demolition report and consent.

Council's Demolition Works Policy says its delegated officer decides within 14 days of receiving all the information. Each request is checked against the heritage study, the planning scheme and any heritage overlay. If the house isn't listed, consent is granted. If it's covered by the planning scheme or an overlay, consent is refused and you need a planning permit first.

That check matters in Traralgon. The Latrobe City Heritage Study lists the APM estates, the APM senior staff houses in Grey and Kay Streets, the Housing Commission estates and the Anderson Street private estate among its themes. Which individual houses carry an overlay is a question for council's planning team, before you sign a builder.

One more council item: where a regulation 116 protection-of-the-public application would apply, Latrobe requires an asset protection permit under its Local Law 3 instead. Separately, and this is state law rather than council's, regulation 117 of the Building Regulations says demolition can't start until the building surveyor has inspected and approved the precautions on site.

Neither council page mentions asbestos. The asbestos duties come from state law, below.

The asbestos strip-out, in order

• Survey. A walk-through with samples of every suspect material. Get the result as a written list, because the demolition contractor needs it too.
• Control plan. The licensed removalist writes one for the job and must give you a copy.
• Removal. Cement sheet is Class B work. Friable items, like scraped vinyl backing or a switchboard lining, need a Class A licence holder, and indoor Class A work needs air monitoring.
• Notice, waste and clearance. A whole-house strip-out is well over 10 square metres, so the five-day WorkSafe notice and an independent clearance both apply, and the load goes to an EPA-authorised facility because Hyland Highway lists commercial asbestos as not accepted. The services page sets out that paperwork in order.
• Demolition. Once the asbestos is gone, the demolisher takes down what's left as ordinary building waste.

Ask your demolition contractor whether they want the clearance certificate in hand before they start. It's a sensible line to have in the contract.

Who does what on the block

Expect three roles on the block. The building surveyor issues the permit and deals with council. The asbestos removalist holds a WorkSafe Class A or Class B licence. The demolition contractor brings the building down. A demolition firm may hold a removal licence itself or bring in a licensed removalist. Either is fine, as long as you know which company holds which licence and for which class. Ask for the licence class in writing on the quote.

The asbestos line in a demolition budget

The biggest variable is how much sheet is in the house. Eaves, two wet areas and a side fence on a brick veneer is one number. A fully clad fibro house is several times that. Next come the friable items, access for trucks, the survey and the independent clearance, and the distance to an EPA-authorised facility. Big loads can travel a long way. When Energy Brix in Morwell was demolished, council refused an on-site cell for about 15,000 cubic metres of asbestos waste, and up to 500 truckloads went roughly 200 km to Bulla. A house is nothing like that, but the disposal leg is still a line on the quote. Ranges are on the cost guide.

If the house next door is coming down

You can't set the neighbour's schedule, but you can report poor practice. The Latrobe Valley Asbestos Taskforce's who-to-call sheet sends a contractor removing asbestos improperly to WorkSafe on 1800 136 089, large-scale breaking-up of sheeting to EPA on 1300 372 842, and a homeowner doing their own removal to Latrobe City on 1300 367 700.

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