Interior Demolition Services in St. Louis, Missouri

What does interior demolition remove in a home or small building?

Interior demolition takes out what is inside a building and leaves the outer structure alone. In a house, a small office or a two-flat, that usually means partitions, ceilings, flooring, trim, fixtures and old pipes. Each item raises a different question before anyone swings a tool.

The interior demolition page above covers what AES offers. For tenant spaces and larger commercial buildings, read commercial interior demolition. For teardown of a whole house, see house demolition. This section covers what comes out of a home or smaller building and what to check first.

What comes out	What to check first
Plaster, joint compound, textured paint, acoustical plaster	Missouri DNR lists these among potential asbestos-containing materials
Ceiling tiles and panels	Also on the DNR list. DNR names drop-in ceiling tile as a friable example
Floor tile, linoleum and mastic	On the DNR list. See asbestos floor tile and floor adhesive removal
Pipe and boiler insulation	DNR names boiler insulation and paper pipe insulation as friable examples
Painted walls and trim in older homes	AES says many Missouri properties built before the 1980s used lead-based products
Tubs, sinks, toilets, doors, windows, lumber	AES separates these for recycling before demolition
Fluorescent fixtures and old wiring	AES lists these, with PCBs and ACMs, as harmful materials that need correct disposal

A listed material is a suspect until a lab says otherwise. DNR says an inspector collects samples of suspect materials and sends them for laboratory analysis. Read the glossary entries on friable asbestos and non-friable asbestos to see why condition matters.

Does a house interior demolition need an asbestos inspection?

It depends on the building. Missouri DNR exempts only a single residential structure with four or fewer dwelling units. Two or more residential structures are not exempt, and neither is a building used for another purpose or converted between residential and commercial. St. Louis County says all regulated structures need an inspection first.

DNR lists other cases too, so read its fact sheet or call the office. The rules differ by agency, and the City, the County and the state each have a role.

Office	What it says	What it means for a small job
Missouri DNR	Regulated structures, or the areas to be demolished or renovated, must be inspected by a Missouri certified asbestos inspector	Applies to commercial buildings and to residential structures that are not exempt
St. Louis County Health Department	All regulated structures must be inspected by a certified asbestos inspector prior to renovation or demolition	The inspection report goes with the notification form
St. Louis County Air Pollution Control	Municipalities and County Public Works rely on it to make sure asbestos and other hazards are addressed before demolition permits issue	Expect a clearance step before a permit
City of St. Louis Building Division	Partial demolition: call the Permit Section	Ask whether your scope needs a permit

Our asbestos survey page explains what the inspection involves. The guides to Missouri asbestos rules for demolition and renovation, City of St. Louis permits and St. Louis County permits go deeper. Rules and fees change, so confirm each point with the office named.

What order should the work follow?

Paperwork and hazard removal come before the soft strip. Survey first. Then notices and permits. Then abatement of any regulated material. Then the strip-out, haul-off and cleanup. Skipping ahead can stop the job, and a City permit is good for only 30 days, so the order also protects your schedule.

AES describes the same logic. It says that before any demolition project it provides a demolition survey by licensed inspectors that reports any mold, asbestos or lead, and that older Missouri properties often need special abatement before any demolition work. See asbestos abatement, lead abatement and mold remediation for the AES services that fit those steps.

This table shows who files what.

Document	Who files it	Timing and conditions
Asbestos inspection report	Missouri certified asbestos inspector	A copy must accompany the DNR notifications. The County asks for a complete copy with its form
DNR demolition notification	Owner and contractors share the obligation	At least 10 working days before demolishing a regulated structure, even if no asbestos is found
DNR abatement notification	Owner and contractors share the obligation	At least 10 working days before a regulated asbestos abatement project starts
St. Louis County NESHAP form	Project owner or operator may sign	Do not enter a start date less than ten working days past the postmark, unless the department grants a waiver
City demolition permit	City-certified Demolition Contractor, or an owner within the City limits	Good for 30 days. Needs photos of all four sides and neighbors

Our post on the 10 working day notice explains how to count the days. The glossary entries for NESHAP and regulated asbestos-containing material define the terms on the forms.

What does the City of St. Louis require for partial demolition?

The City says demolition permits are required for wrecking or demolishing work. For partial demolition, it tells you to call the Permit Section at (314) 622-3313 about the requirements. Permits must be obtained by a Demolition Contractor certified by the City of Saint Louis.

An owner may be issued a permit only if the building is no more than 1 1/2 stories or 15 feet in height, holds less than 10,000 cubic feet and 1,000 square feet of floor area, and has no basement. An owner may also get a permit for a garage or shed. If you are not the owner, you need a notarized letter from the owner. Every application needs photos of all four sides of the structure and of neighboring structures or lots.

The permit is good for 30 days. Line up the survey, the notices and the crew before you apply. Buildings in Local Historic Districts, Preservation Review Districts or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places can draw a Cultural Resources review.

AES holds a City of St. Louis Class II demolition certificate, #877, valid February 28, 2026 to February 28, 2027. The full steps are in the City permit guide.

How is dust controlled during interior demolition?

Contain the work area, filter the air and keep the dust from reaching the rest of the building. AES says its crews confine the area and use air filtration machines so no dust, spores or asbestos fibers enter the atmosphere, and that they contain dirt, dust and debris within the work area.

Learn the tools in plain terms: containment is the barrier around the work, a negative air machine pulls air through filters so it flows into the work area, and a HEPA filter catches fine particles. Ask your contractor which of these will be used and where.

Breaking up concrete or masonry adds another dust. OSHA’s silica rule for construction lists tool-by-tool controls in Table 1. For jackhammers and handheld powered chipping tools, it gives two options:

OSHA Table 1 option	Control	Respirator, indoors or in an enclosed area
Water	Tool with a water delivery system that supplies a continuous stream or spray at the point of impact, operated and maintained per the manufacturer’s instructions	APF 10 for both 4 hours or less and over 4 hours per shift
Dust collection	Tool with a commercially available shroud and dust collection system, operated and maintained per the manufacturer’s instructions to minimize dust. The collector must give the airflow the tool maker recommends, or more, with a filter of 99% or greater efficiency and a filter-cleaning mechanism	APF 10 for both 4 hours or less and over 4 hours per shift

Outdoors, the same row asks for no respirator at 4 hours or less and APF 10 above 4 hours. The hours count across all Table 1 tasks: if one worker does more than one Table 1 task in a shift and the tasks add up to more than four hours, the over-4-hours respirator rule applies to each task. Indoors or in an enclosed area, the rule also requires a means of exhaust as needed to minimize the buildup of visible airborne dust, and where crews use water, the flow must be enough to minimize visible dust. A contractor can also measure exposure and follow the rule’s other path instead. The concrete grinding contractors page covers the floor-grinding rows of the same table.

What happens to the debris?

Sort it. AES says materials fit for recycling come out before demolition, including bathtubs, sinks and toilets, bricks and stones, dimensional lumber, doors and windows, and marble and wooden flooring. Harmful items go to correct disposal. Everything else is separated for an authorized site.

Asbestos waste has its own rules. DNR says waste from regulated projects at threshold quantities must go to an approved sanitary landfill or transfer station through registered asbestos abatement contractors. Non-friable asbestos-containing material that is not made into regulated material is not regulated by DNR’s asbestos rules. DNR still treats it as solid waste for an approved landfill or transfer facility. Call the facility about packaging.

Waste stream	Who handles it	Where to read
Asbestos waste from regulated projects	Registered asbestos abatement contractor	Asbestos disposal
Fluorescent fixtures, old wiring, PCBs	Contractor, to the correct disposal	Hazardous material disposal
General demolition debris	Demolition crew, to an authorized site	Construction waste disposal
Recyclable fixtures, lumber, brick	Separated before demolition	Building demolition

How does a home job differ from a commercial one?

Mostly in scale, exemptions and who is in the space. A home may fall under the single residential exception. A commercial building does not. A commercial tenant space adds landlord rules and business hours. Both start with the same question: what is in the walls and floors?

The commercial page walks through tenant build-outs and occupied-building containment, so this page does not repeat it. See commercial interior demolition and the demolition from survey to debris guide. For the full AES list, visit demolition.

What should I send to get a quote?

Send the address, the type and size of the building, the rooms in scope, your plans if you have them, and any asbestos or lead results. Say if you want part of the building to stay in use. AES does not publish interior demolition prices. It quotes each job.

Call AES at (314) 865-2662 or use the contact page. AES serves St. Louis and projects within 300 miles.