Selective demolition · Martin County
Selective demolition in Martin County
Selective demolition is decided by what stays up. Before a wing or wall comes off a Martin County building, the engineer of record has to show how the remaining structure carries its load, and the permit office has to see it.
Downtown Stuart now has a new layer. On September 9, 2026, the Downtown Stuart and East Stuart Historic Districts were listed on the National Register. Listing alone does not bar demolition, but the City's code sets a wait before a permit to demolish a historic structure can issue: 30 days in R-1 and R-2 zoning, 90 days elsewhere. Whether your building falls under it is the City's call, and we ask before the scope is priced.
Stuart also changed who may pull the permit. Since July 1, 2025, its Building Division no longer accepts Martin County Certificates of Competency, so the contractor must hold a state registration or certification. Romco is a licensed Florida general contractor and files through the City's OpenGov portal.
The work itself is sequence. We shore what the engineer calls for, separate old from new with clean cuts, and protect the faces that will sit open to weather until the new envelope closes them. Where the cut runs below grade, we self-perform dewatering and Support of Excavation, the engineered system that holds a deep cut open.
Send the drawings you have and mark the part you want gone. We will walk the building with your engineer and return a sequence and a number.
Work order
- Review the drawings and walk the building with the engineer of record.
- Confirm with the permit office whether a historic wait or design review applies.
- Arrange the licensed asbestos survey for the area coming out.
- File the permit with the engineer's sequence and partial-demolition floor plans.
- Shore, separate and remove in the order the engineer sets.
- Dry in the exposed faces and hand the area over for the new work.
Where jobs slip
Common problems, and how each is controlled
Load paths nobody mapped
An older addition can carry more of the main roof than the drawings admit. We expose connections under the engineer's direction and install temporary shoring before the cut, not after a crack appears.
Historic review found at the counter
A permit that stalls in review costs more than the question would have. In Stuart, we confirm whether the structure is treated as historic before any equipment is booked.
Rain on an open face
Wind-driven rain finds whatever the demolition leaves exposed. Temporary dry-in for each opening is written into the sequence from the start.
Vibration into the part that stays
Heavy breaking beside retained walls travels. At the junction we use saw cutting and hand work, and keep the larger machine on the far side.
Work others are licensed for
Structural design belongs to a licensed engineer, and we build to that engineer's sequence, not our own judgment. Utility relocations, fire-sprinkler changes and electrical work go to licensed trades we coordinate. Historic determinations come from the City or the county, never from us.
Questions
About selective demolition
Does the new National Register listing stop demolition in downtown Stuart?
Listing alone does not bar demolition. Stuart's code sets a 30-day wait, or 90 days outside R-1 and R-2 zoning, before a permit to demolish a historic structure can issue, and the City defines what counts as historic. Confirm your building's status with the Development Department first.
Can you take off an upper floor and leave the one below?
We quote it. The engineer of record decides how the lower floor carries temporary and final loads, and our sequence follows that design. If the work reaches into a slab or foundation below grade, we self-perform the shoring and dewatering.
What drives the cost of a demolition?
Six things move the number most: the building's size and construction, what the asbestos survey finds, the utility and septic work to coordinate, site access, debris weight, and what the permit office requires. We do not publish prices, because a guess is worse than none. Send the property survey and photos, and we return a written number after we walk the site.
Is there a job size you will not take?
No. Every kind of demolition gets a price from us, whether it is a single shed or to a multi-story building. On larger and coastal sites we self-perform dewatering, Support of Excavation and deep foundations, including in tidal ground, so the work below grade stays in our sequence instead of passing to another firm.
Is Romco licensed for this work?
Romco Builders is a licensed Florida general contractor. That matters in Stuart, which since July 1, 2025 no longer accepts county Certificates of Competency and requires state registration or certification. Asbestos surveys, abatement, electrical, plumbing and tree work are licensed separately, and we coordinate the firms that hold those licenses.
The sequence
Six stages, start to closed permit
Describe the job
Phone or use the form. Tell us the address, what comes down and what stays. Photos or a survey help.
Site visit
We look at the structure, the live services, access for trucks, trees, the seawall or water's edge, and any association rules.
Written scope with a price
Removal, protection, hauling and anything that hangs on the asbestos survey appear as separate lines.
Notices, releases, permit
The licensed survey and FDEP notice where required, the utility releases, then the application to the correct office.
Demolition and hauling
Work follows the agreed order, and debris goes to the county transfer facility in Palm City or another licensed site.
Inspection and close
The final inspection passes and the permit closes, leaving a level lot or the shell you specified.
Selective demolition anywhere in Martin, including Stuart, Palm City, Jensen Beach, Hobe Sound, Port Salerno, Hutchinson Island, Jupiter Island, Sewall's Point, Indiantown, Ocean Breeze, and every other Martin city.
Other types
More demolition on quote
- Interior demolitionStrip-outs to the studs or the slab, with the survey and the floor plans settled first.Interior demolition in Martin →
- Commercial demolitionPlazas, offices, restaurants and warehouses, sequenced around utilities and the next use.Commercial demolition in Martin →
- House demolitionTeardowns planned around what the lot may hold next and the steps the checklist skips.House demolition in Martin →
- Structural demolitionMulti-story and coastal buildings down to the foundation, with deep work self-performed.Structural demolition in Martin →
- Concrete removalSlabs, drives, patios and footings broken out, hauled and graded.Concrete removal in Martin →
- Pool removalPartial fill-in or full shell removal, with the access route and the permit settled first.Pool removal in Martin →
- Mobile home demolitionMobile and manufactured homes taken down, with the hookups and the pad dealt with.Mobile home demolition in Martin →
- Storm damage demolitionStorm-damaged buildings made safe and taken down under the county's recovery rules.Storm damage demolition in Martin →
- Site clearingLots cleared for building, in the order the county's tree and clearing rules set.Site clearing in Martin →
- Asbestos coordinationThe licensed survey, the FDEP notice and the abatement firm, coordinated around the work.Asbestos coordination in Martin →
- Accessory structure demolitionSheds, detached garages, guest cottages and outbuildings, permitted and hauled.Accessory structure demolition in Martin →
- Something else?Demolition of every type is quoted, large or small. If yours is not shown, phone and describe it.Call (772) 310-3298 →
Every type and size, across Martin County
Send the address and the scope. We will quote it.
Romco Builders is a licensed Florida general contractor, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale. One wall or an entire building, every quote comes back as a written scope with a number attached.