Demolition and Removal in Plainfield, IN
Plainfield has been building houses steadily since the 1950s, which means the oldest subdivisions are now carrying sheds, decks and pools that have reached the end. People call about getting them out of the backyard. Travis takes them down, hauls the pile and grades the spot flat.
- Free estimates
- Based in Greencastle, Indiana
- One crew, first cut to final grade
Demolition in Plainfield
Seventy years of subdivisions, and the first ones are aging
Plainfield sits on US-40 and I-70 at the west edge of Indianapolis, next to the airport. It had about 2,600 people in 1950 and about 34,600 in 2020, and almost all of that growth is houses. The neighborhoods off Main Street from the 1960s and 70s are now fifty years old.
Fifty-year-old yards have fifty-year-old things in them, and Travis sees the same few over and over. A wooden deck with rotten posts. A metal shed with the floor rusted out. A detached garage from before the house got a two-car attached one. That is where most of the demolition calls in Plainfield come from.
Above-ground pools and decks
The most common version of this job in Plainfield is a pool and the deck built around it. The pool wall comes apart, the liner and the sand base go, and the deck is pulled down with the excavator rather than taken apart board by board. Everything is loaded into the trailer and hauled.
What is left is a round dead spot where the sand was and a ring of compacted ground. Travis strips the sand, brings in fill where it is needed and grades the circle back to match the lawn so it does not read as a crater after the first rain.
Getting a machine into a fenced backyard
Subdivision lots here are close together, and the thing you want gone is usually behind the house. A mini excavator fits through a standard gate opening or between most houses, and a skid steer carries the debris out to the trailer at the street. A section of fence sometimes comes down for the day and goes back up after.
Travis looks at the route before he quotes it. Lawn that gets driven over on soft spring clay will rut, so the timing and the path matter as much as the machine.
Flat clay and where the water goes
Plainfield is on the Central Till Plains, with White Lick Creek down the west side of town and Clark's Creek down the east. Between them the ground is flat and the soil is glacial clay. Water does not move far on its own. Leave a hole where a slab or a pool was and it becomes a pond.
So the hole is filled and compacted, and the ground is graded with a fall away from the house. If the yard was already holding water, yard drainage in Plainfield can be done on the same visit, while the ground is open.
Indiana 811 and the Town of Plainfield
Indiana 811 gets notice at least two full working days before the excavation or demolition starts, and no more than ten calendar days before; that is state law. Any power, gas or water run to a shed or pool pump has to be disconnected by the utility before it is touched.
The Town of Plainfield lists demolition as its own permit category, so call the town before a date is fixed and ask what it wants for your building. A garden shed is one answer and a detached garage is another. For a commercial building, IDEM's asbestos inspection and notification rules apply before anything comes down; a noncommercial house of four or fewer units is exempt.
Concrete, gravel or grass afterward
A detached garage usually leaves a slab, and the slab can go with it. Concrete removal in Plainfield is the same crew breaking out the pad, loading it and preparing the base for whatever is next. If the spot becomes parking, a gravel drive can go in on the compacted base.
If it becomes lawn, it is graded and seeded. The price covers tear-down, hauling and grading in one figure, after a free look. The demolition page explains the full service, and the Plainfield page covers the rest of what On Grade does in town.
Demolition & Removal
Sheds, garages, barns, carports, decks, pools, mobile homes and old slabs taken down, hauled off and the ground graded back.
See the serviceTalk to Travis(317) 203-8928
Text Travis a photo of what has to come out and the address. He comes out, checks the route into the yard and gives you one number.
Call nowWhat that covers
- Above-ground pools. Wall, liner, sand and the deck around it gone, and the circle graded back to lawn.
- Sheds and carports. Metal, wood or plastic, taken down and loaded through the gate.
- Old detached garages. Pulled down with the excavator, slab and footings out if you want them gone.
- Decks and fences. Rotten decks, posts and the concrete they sit in, removed and hauled.
Plainfield, IN
The west side of Indianapolis along US-40 and I-70, 30 minutes from Greencastle, with subdivisions from the 1970s on and new ones still going in.
Town pageAlso in PlainfieldConcrete Removal in Plainfield, IN
See the pageAlso in PlainfieldYard Drainage & French Drains in Plainfield, IN
See the pageAlso in PlainfieldGravel Driveways in Plainfield, IN
See the pageThe serviceDemolition & Removal
Sheds, garages, barns, carports, decks, pools, mobile homes and old slabs taken down, hauled off and the ground graded back.
Main service pagePlainfield and the towns nearby
Plainfield is about half an hour from Greencastle, and the same demolition work runs through the rest of Hendricks County: demolition in Avon just north on the same flat clay, Brownsburg up I-74, and Danville at the county seat. South across the county line, Mooresville gets the same crew on the same trip. The Plainfield excavation page covers everything else On Grade does here, from site prep to drainage.
You get Travis. One crew, first cut to final grade.
You call
You call or send the form. Travis comes out and looks at the job with you, on the ground, rather than pricing it off a photograph.
A number first
You get one figure before anything starts, with the hauling and the finish grading in it.
One crew does it
Then the same crew that quoted it shows up and does the work, first cut to final grade.
Ground left usable
Voids get filled and the ground is graded back so you can pour, build or seed.
Photos of his work.
These are photographs from actual jobs. See more recent work. Or read about the full demolition & removal service.
Questions people ask
Not seeing yours? Call (317) 203-8928 and ask Travis, or read the guides.
Do you remove above-ground pools in Plainfield?
Yes. The pool, the liner, the sand base and the deck around it all go, and the circle is filled and graded back to meet the lawn. Any power to the pump has to be disconnected first. It is the most common demolition call in Plainfield.
Do I need a permit to tear down a shed or garage in Plainfield?
The Town of Plainfield lists demolition as its own permit category. Call the town before a date is fixed and ask what it wants for your building, since a small shed and a detached garage may get different answers. Indiana 811 has to be notified at least two full working days ahead regardless.
Can you get a machine into my backyard?
Usually. A mini excavator fits through a standard gate or between most subdivision houses, and a skid steer carries the debris out to the trailer. Sometimes a fence panel comes down for the day. Travis checks the route when he comes to look, and he watches the ground conditions so the lawn is not rutted.
What happens to the slab under an old garage?
It can come out with the building, footings included, and the hole is filled and compacted. Or it can stay and be cleaned up if you plan to build on it. If you want a new garage there, the base can be prepared for a concrete crew to pour, but On Grade does not pour concrete.
How is the price worked out?
Travis comes out, looks at the building and the route in and out, and gives you one figure that includes tear-down, hauling and grading. Estimates are free, and a photo by text is a good way to start.
Other work he takes on
Most jobs end up being two or three of these at once, and they get quoted together.
Demolition & Removal in other towns
Excavation & Site Prep
Sites stripped, cut and graded, ready for the builder.
Learn moreFoundation & Basement Excavation
Basements, crawl spaces and footings dug to grade and backfilled.
Learn moreDrainage, Culverts & Utilities
Water moved off yards and away from foundations; culverts and service lines set.
Learn moreDriveways & Finish Grading
Gravel drives built and crowned; yards finish graded for seed.
Learn moreLand Clearing & Forestry Mulching
Lots and acreage cleared, brush mulched in place.
Learn moreBuilding & Pole Barn Pads
Pads cut, filled and compacted for barns, shops and houses.
Learn moreFree estimate in Plainfield.
Call or text Travis. Free estimates, straight answers.
Greencastle, Indiana · Putnam, Hendricks, Boone and Marion counties
Need demolition in Plainfield?
Call or text Travis with the address and what you are trying to do.