Demolition Contractor in Brevard, NC

Tearing Down an Older House in Brevard

Brevard's homes run older than the county's. Census estimates put the median build year at 1974 in the city and 1984 in Transylvania County. Most of the city's homes are single-family houses, and fewer than one in ten went up in 2010 or later. Along East Main Street, a historic district on the National Register takes in many older homes.

Local designation adds a step. A local landmark, or a building in a local historic district, needs a certificate of appropriateness before it comes down. Under the city's ordinance, its effective date can be delayed up to 365 days. Ask the city's Planning and Zoning Department whether a building is covered.

Asbestos is the other early question. The state's Health Hazards Control Unit recommends an asbestos inspection before any demolition, single-family homes included.

Steep Lots on the West Side of Brevard

The city's land use plan says vacant wooded lots tend to sit on the steep west side of town. The federal soil survey maps about a tenth of the city as Fannin soils on 30 to 50 percent slopes. One soil series even carries the town's name. Brevard loam is deep and well drained, with red sandy clay loam under the topsoil.

Brevard's development ordinance has its own steep slope section. For a parcel that reaches 2,250 feet in elevation, the city approves its slope figure before work starts. The steep slope rules apply when that parcel also averages a 25 percent slope or more. Building on ground at 35 percent or steeper needs an engineer's geotechnical report before the zoning permit.

The city's ordinance also holds cut and fill slopes to 40 percent or flatter. On a steep lot, that shapes where the house pad and the driveway go. Our site development work cuts both with a large excavator and a small one, then digs the footings. For a new house in the city's zoning area, the city checks footings and setbacks before the county's footing inspection.

Where the grade has to stand steeper than the slope rules allow, retaining walls hold it. In Transylvania County, a retaining wall over 4 feet tall has to be designed by a design professional.

Building Near the French Broad River

The French Broad River runs along the east side of Brevard, with the Pisgah National Forest on the west. The city's plan says the land on that east edge, out into the floodplain, is mostly farmed. FEMA flood maps put about one acre in nine inside the city in the 100-year flood zone. In the soil survey, about a sixth of the city is mapped as soils that flood often.

Helene flooded the river in September 2024. The National Weather Service reported record crests on the French Broad at Rosman and at Blantyre. Transylvania County was part of the federal disaster declaration that followed.

Inside Brevard's zoning area, the city's Planning and Zoning Department issues floodplain development permits. Ask there before any fill or grading on a lot in a flood zone. Along the streams the city's ordinance covers, the ground within 30 feet of each bank stays in natural cover. The ordinance bars grading and the removal of vegetation there, so land clearing stops at that line.

Heavy Rain and Bare Ground in Brevard

Brevard is a wet town. The NOAA weather station there averages about 75 inches of rain a year, some 16 inches more than Murphy's. On a graded slope, rain like that can carry bare dirt into a creek or onto the street.

The city's ordinance says land disturbance needs site plan approval first, though city staff can exempt incidental work. Graded ground has to be seeded and mulched or otherwise protected. Silt fencing or another approved method has to hold the dirt on the lot.

A job that disturbs more than an acre needs an erosion control plan approved by NC DEQ. The city wants a copy before it approves the site plan. Hydroseeding sprays seed and mulch onto graded ground in one slurry. Once the grass takes, its roots help hold the slope.