Demolition & Excavation Services in the Sutherland Shire

The Fibro & Asbestos Reality in the Sutherland Shire

Much of the Sutherland Shire was developed from the 1950s onwards. During this period, fibro sheeting – a cement sheet product heavily reinforced with asbestos fibres – was the building material of choice for affordable housing. It was used extensively for external walls, internal linings, eave panels, fencing, and garages.

Asbestos was also commonly used in corrugated roof sheeting, vinyl floor tiles, pipe lagging, and cavity insulation – meaning even homes that don’t look like classic fibro can contain significant quantities of asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) that are not immediately visible.

Any demolition of a pre-1987 home in the Sutherland Shire must begin with a licensed asbestos inspection. If ACMs are identified, they must be removed by a licensed contractor before demolition proceeds – full stop. Get It Away holds a SafeWork NSW Restricted Demolition Licence (DE2, No. AD214489). All asbestos is identified, safely removed, and disposed of by licensed contractors before demolition begins.

Knockdown-Rebuild in the Sutherland Shire

Rising land values in Cronulla, Caringbah, Miranda, Gymea, and Kirrawee are making knockdown-rebuild the most financially sensible option for many Shire homeowners. An aging fibro home on a well-located block is worth far more as vacant land than as a renovated dwelling – and the cost of bringing it up to modern standards often exceeds the cost of building new.

Dual-occupancy development is also increasingly common across R2 and R3 zoned land in the Shire – owners demolishing a single fibro home to replace it with two modern dwellings, either to retain one and sell the other, or as an investment development. In both cases, the demolition scope is the same: a complete, compliant clearance of the existing structure.

A full knockdown-rebuild demolition scope with Get It Away includes: utility disconnection coordination (Endeavour Energy, Sydney Water, APA Gas), asbestos inspection and licensed removal, full structural demolition, footing and slab removal, and complete site cleanup – handed over level, clean, and ready for your builder to commence.

Sandstone & Sloped Site Excavation

The Sutherland Shire sits on Sydney Basin sandstone – a bedrock that is encountered at varying depths across the region but is consistently present in elevated suburbs like Engadine, Menai, Woronora, and Heathcote. Sandstone changes everything about how excavation is planned and priced.

Unlike clay or fill, sandstone cannot be dug with a standard excavator bucket. It requires rock-breaking equipment, and in some cases hydraulic hammering or rock sawing, which adds time and cost to the scope. Any quote for excavation in the Shire that does not account for the likelihood of sandstone is not a reliable quote – we assess rock depth as part of every site inspection.

Sloped blocks are also common across the Shire – particularly in Engadine, Menai, Woronora Heights, and Waterfall. Excavation on these sites requires staged works to maintain ground support, careful management of surface water and drainage paths, and erosion controls to protect both the site and neighbouring properties.

Retaining wall preparation is frequently part of the scope on sloped Shire blocks – we prepare the ground to design levels so your engineer’s retaining design can be installed without remedial excavation.

Working Near Bushland & Natural Features

A significant proportion of Sutherland Shire properties border the Royal National Park, Georges River reserve, or various creek and bushland corridors. Demolition and excavation near these boundaries requires additional environmental controls that are not required on standard suburban sites.

Sediment and erosion control (SEC) plans are required on any site that disturbs more than 250m² of soil adjacent to a waterway or environmentally sensitive area. We install and maintain sediment fencing, hay bales, and silt traps throughout works to prevent runoff reaching protected land.

Tree preservation orders are enforced strictly by Sutherland Shire Council – several species and significant individual trees are protected regardless of proximity to the building footprint. We identify TPO-affected trees during site assessment and plan works to avoid root zone disturbance.

Properties in Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) zones – common in Engadine, Heathcote, Waterfall, and Woronora – require specific debris management during demolition to comply with the NSW Rural Fire Service requirements that apply during declared fire danger periods.