Is demolishing old buildings really that expensive?

70k just for the demolition? Phew, quickly discard that and request quotes from other companies. I recently awarded a similar contract in Baden-Württemberg for 19,000 euros. Admittedly, the contractor hardly makes any profit from it, but you can easily get it done for half that price including the basement.

I can't agree with that. RemsMurrKreis; the demolition of a barn 12x8m without disposal would cost us around 35-40k€. Therefore, I don't find 70k depending on the volume and cubic measurement of the single-family house so unreasonable.

Backfilling depends on what will be placed on top later. If it's just a garden and settlements don't matter, you can simply fill with any kind of excavated material, which people are happy to give away. If later a driveway, etc. will be on top, you probably have to fill with compactable material, and that gets expensive. A little bit comes from the demolition, but that's definitely not enough. Bringing in gravel is expensive.

I have to disagree here as well. Hauling companies are not allowed to do it as simply anymore because excavated material generally has to be disposed of properly.
Storing it at a buddy’s or a farmer’s nearby can cost the dispatcher their license.

What used to be so cheap and casual is now usually prohibited or punishable.

We are not even allowed to reapply our topsoil ourselves because it would first have to be tested for pollutants and would therefore be classified as hazardous waste.

I have to disagree here as well. Hauling companies are no longer allowed to do this so easily because excavation material must generally be disposed of. Storing it at a buddy’s place or a farmer around the corner can cost the dispatcher their license.

What used to be done so cheaply and casually is nowadays usually prohibited or punishable.

We wouldn’t even be allowed to reapply our topsoil ourselves since it would first have to be tested for contaminants and would thus be considered hazardous waste.

This is also thought of very generally. We are allowed to reapply all excavation material including topsoil. No analysis for the landfill, no fuss with us. 2 km further near a former refinery site, the excavation must be analyzed, washed, re-analyzed, and still may not be reapplied. I think this is a very local regulation on what can and cannot be done with soils. You need to inquire at the municipal/city administration.

Would it be possible to refill the resulting hole with the excavation material from the house? Soils from nearby locations should be pretty homogeneous, provided no requirements for load-bearing capacity are imposed.

As advice for such one-sided offers:
- Agree on a fixed scope of work as a lump sum price
- Agree on an exact final condition including the maximum size of allowable debris pieces that are inevitable after demolition and may remain in the soil. We agreed on screening with max. 6x6 cm for concrete debris and absolutely zero harmful/plastic/mineral residues. So no film scraps, glass wool, shards in the soil or anything similar
- The gutting (the term must also be defined more precisely by you), the full proper disposal including removal should also be mentioned
- No waiting times at the builder’s expense in case of delays in container delivery, etc.
- Construction site toilet provided by contractor
- Possibly necessary traffic regulations, barriers, protection of public ground against damage by heavy machinery, and if applicable construction water/electricity by contractor
- Tie payment to full, successful completion of the work, or agree on a demolition time window or fixed deadline

If the contractors do not come to the site before submitting their offer, you usually find the above points partially on the final invoice. With the justification, “this was not included in the offer but was absolutely necessary or had to be provided on site.”

You can also award demolition and backfilling separately. Demolition experts are usually not specialized in backfilling and may charge much more for backfilling out of caution than a hauling company that buys the material more often and probably more cheaply.

Edit:
You can deduct asbestos disposal/dismantling as an extraordinary expense on your taxes and it should therefore be invoiced separately.

The existing demolition-worthy house from the 1950s is about 11x8m with 2 full floors + basement. The offer was then 70,000€ excluding hazardous materials (these would be extra on top if they are present, so you can definitely expect a few thousand euros there). When I read posts in this forum, I would have rather expected half that amount. Do we really have to budget such a high sum here just for the demolition?

A few weeks ago we demolished a house near Hanover: 1960s, also 11x8, 2 full floors and basement.
Demolition including gutting, clearing out the garden, disposal, construction fence, toilet, etc.: 28k euros. Filling comes on top.

I have to disagree here as well. Hauling companies are no longer allowed to do that so easily because excavated soil must generally be disposed of.

Uncontaminated excavated soil is not disposed of but reused elsewhere, for example for noise protection berms. You can also simply order the excavated soil from other people at the gravel plant if you want to fill something in. Donated soil is still frequently done. The portals are full of it. A neighbor also had various trucks dumped on his property by a well-known construction contractor to fill up the land.

In any case, let me know where you have finally landed price-wise for the work, if only for reference reasons for other interested parties.