Demolition in Glendale, CO

Demolition is the first irreversible step in most Glendale remodels, and the city treats it as a distinct trade rather than an extension of general carpentry. Apollo Construction plans a Glendale teardown or selective demolition around the city’s own licensing structure, the state asbestos rule that governs every Colorado demolition regardless of city, and a sequence that protects whatever is meant to survive the work.

Glendale Licenses Demolition as Its Own Specialty Class

Glendale’s contractor license application lists Demolition under a Specialty Contractor section, separate from the general Contractor class that covers trades like concrete or framing. Work in that specialty class requires its own certification and is performed under the supervision of a Class A or Class B Building Supervisor’s Certificate holder. That is a more particular structure than a city that treats demolition as something any general contractor can simply check a box for.

The same application ties demolition rights inside the general contractor classes to an intent to rebuild. A General Contractor Class A license permits demolishing a building or structure when the licensee establishes that a new building or addition will be erected on the same site, and a Class B license permits demolition or partial demolition of a smaller Group R-3 or one-story structure under that same rebuild condition. A straight teardown with no planned rebuild on the same site reads as work for the dedicated Demolition specialty class rather than a general contractor license alone.

No Separate Demolition Application, Same Citywide Licensing Rule

Glendale does not publish a demolition-specific permit application distinct from its standard building permit process. A demolition scope moves through the same electronic-first submittal path as any other permit, filed online or emailed to the Building & Permits Department, and it is priced under the same valuation-based fee structure used citywide. The same rule that governs every other trade in Glendale still applies here: a contractor license from Denver or any neighboring jurisdiction does not qualify a crew to pull a Glendale demolition permit, even though the city is surrounded by Denver on every side.

Asbestos Inspection Is a State Requirement, Not a Glendale One

Before any demolition or renovation activity that could disturb suspect material, Colorado’s Air Quality Control Commission Regulation No. 8 requires an inspection by a Colorado-certified Asbestos Building Inspector, or the material must be treated as asbestos-containing and handled accordingly. CDPHE, the state health department, enforces this rule, not Glendale’s Building & Permits Department, which means it applies the same way in Glendale as it does anywhere else in Colorado. We do not treat this as optional paperwork; it is a legal precondition to disturbing suspect material, and it determines the demolition sequence before the first wall comes down.

That inspection decision changes how we sequence a job. If suspect material is present and confirmed, the abatement step has to be completed by a certified asbestos contractor before ordinary demolition resumes on that material. We do not turn an unconfirmed condition into an emergency by disturbing it first and asking questions later. Where a project’s schedule depends on a fast start, we flag the inspection and any required state notification as an early milestone rather than something discovered mid-teardown.

Utility Safety Is a Statewide Step, Not a Local Bulletin

Glendale does not publish its own utility-disconnect bulletin for demolition work, so we follow the statewide practice that applies everywhere in Colorado: request a utility locate through Colorado 811 before any demolition or excavation that could contact a buried line. That locate identifies participating utility lines but does not by itself confirm that electric, gas, or water service to the structure has been safely disconnected, so we coordinate the actual service disconnection with the applicable utility or trade separately before demolition begins on a connected structure.

Stormwater and Floodplain Rules Can Apply to a Larger Teardown

If a demolition project disturbs one acre of ground or more, or is part of a larger common plan of development, Glendale’s Stormwater Construction Program requires a City Stormwater Permit and a Stormwater Management Plan, with disturbed ground stabilized within fourteen days of grading and slope limits that discourage anything steeper than 3:1. Most single residential teardowns fall well under that acreage, but a larger lot or a combined demolition-and-rebuild project can cross it. Separately, any property adjacent to Cherry Creek falls inside Glendale’s mapped floodplain under Municipal Code Chapter 15.16, where a Floodplain Development Permit is required before a structure is altered, demolished, or removed. We check floodplain mapping for the address as part of scoping a Cherry Creek-adjacent demolition.

How We Sequence a Glendale Demolition

We start with the address, the intended end state, and whether a rebuild is planned on the same site, since that answer affects which license classification governs the work. We confirm our demolition licensing and any required Class A or Class B supervision is in place, file the permit through Glendale’s standard application process, and check whether the property’s acreage or floodplain status brings the stormwater program or a floodplain permit into scope.

Before anything is disturbed, suspect material is evaluated under the state asbestos rule, and a Colorado 811 locate request goes in for any work with excavation risk, alongside coordinating the actual disconnection of active utilities. Once those steps clear, we establish a protected work zone, sequence removal from finishes down to framing, and pause at any point where a load-bearing condition or an unresolved system is uncovered rather than guessing. Closeout documents the stop line, the retained condition, and what the next trade needs to know before reconstruction begins.

Common Questions

Does demolition need its own contractor license in Glendale?
Yes. Glendale lists Demolition as its own specialty license category, separate from the general contractor classes, requiring special certification and supervision by a Class A or Class B Building Supervisor’s Certificate holder.

Can a general contractor license cover a teardown?
Glendale’s General Contractor Class A and Class B licenses permit demolition specifically when the licensee will erect a new building or addition on the same site. A demolition with no planned rebuild on that site falls to the dedicated Demolition specialty class instead.

Is an asbestos inspection really required before demolition?
Yes, by state law. Colorado Air Quality Control Commission Regulation No. 8 requires a certified inspection before demolition or renovation activity that could disturb suspect material, enforced by CDPHE rather than the City of Glendale. This applies to every Glendale demolition the same as anywhere else in Colorado.

Does a demolition project need a separate stormwater or floodplain permit?
Only if the disturbed area reaches Glendale’s one-acre stormwater threshold, or the property sits within the mapped Cherry Creek floodplain, in which case a Floodplain Development Permit applies before the structure is altered or removed. We check both before scoping the removal.

Talk to Us About Your Project

Tell us what you want removed, whether a rebuild is planned on the same site, and whether the property is occupied. We will confirm the applicable Glendale licensing, the state asbestos inspection step, and the utility-locate and permit path before scheduling the work.