House Demolition
We tear down old houses and cabins, including homes hurt by fire or storms. The debris goes out on our dump truck, and the lot is left clean for what comes next.
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Canton sits on both sides of the Pigeon River. The river flooded the town in August 2021, during Tropical Storm Fred, and again in September 2024, during Hurricane Helene. In Helene, some places inside the town limits were under 28 feet of water as the river rose. After a flood like that, some owners must decide whether a house can be saved or has to come down.
Sanders Contracting is a demolition contractor based in Murphy, and Canton is part of our service area. In Canton, we take on house demolition for flooded and worn-out homes, and we haul off what comes down. A large excavator and a small one do the work, and our dump truck carries the load. Call or text (828) 342-1467, and we look at the job and put the quote in writing.
Tell us what you need done and where the property is. We look at the job and put the quote in writing.
Parts of downtown Canton lie in the regulatory floodplain of the Pigeon River. Main Street and Park Street carry US 19 and 23 through the center of town. After Fred, the town bought a building on Park Street, beside Sorrell Street Park. The plan is to floodproof it and turn it into a public space built to take on floodwater.
Helene hit the town even harder than Fred did. The Canton Armory, a two-story building, took 18 feet of water, past its first floor. In early 2025, the town took applications for a FEMA program on private property inside the town limits. It covered storm debris and the demolition of hazardous structures.
A flood-damaged house that comes down leaves its foundation behind. Our concrete removal work breaks out the slab and the footings with the excavator. Our debris removal work loads what the river left on the lot into the dump truck and hauls it off.
After Helene, some owners of flood-damaged buildings in Canton, Clyde and the rest of Haywood County got Substantial Damage letters. The term comes from the federal flood rules. A building is substantially damaged when repairs would cost 50 percent or more of its market value before the damage.
That finding ties the repair or the rebuild to the local flood ordinances. Some owners decide to tear the house down instead. That choice is yours, and the county or the town answers what your own letter requires.
A lot in the floodplain stays in the floodplain after the house is gone. Inside the town limits, the Town of Canton Planning Department handles zoning and floodplain management. It issues its own floodplain development permit, so ask the town before you plan what goes on the lot next.
Census figures show the median home in Canton was built in 1960. About 28 percent of the homes in town went up in 1939 or earlier. About 42 percent went up before 1950.
The town traces its origins to wood, water and steel: the paper mill, the Pigeon River and the railroad. The paper mill, the area's major employer, closed in June 2023, and 1,050 people lost their jobs. Local leaders have since started work to reshape downtown around the river and to better withstand future floods.
With houses this old, asbestos is a question to settle before any teardown. The state's homeowner guide says materials installed before 1980 are more likely to contain it. Our guide to demolition permits in North Carolina covers the state's asbestos steps and the local permit.
Haywood County Inspections covers the whole county except Waynesville, the county seat. So building and demolition permits for Canton come from the county. Its rule is plain: no one may demolish a building in its area without getting a permit first.
Canton's zoning also reaches some land just outside the town limits. Inside the limits or on that land, a county permit needs the town's zoning approval too. Where the lot sits in a flood zone, the town's flood hazard permitting applies as well.
On a commercial building, the state's asbestos notice is a separate step, and a county permit alone does not meet it. Each office answers for its own part, and we point you to the right one. Once the paperwork is in place, the teardown can start.
Communities and areas we serve around Canton: Downtown Canton, Main Street, Park Street, Sorrell Street Park, Chestnut Mountain Park, Pigeon River, West Canton, Clyde, Bethel, Cruso, I-40 at Exits 31 and 33.
Canton ZIP codes served: 28716.
Canton is part of our service area. We come out from Murphy, look at the job and put the quote in writing.
(828) 342-1467 We tear down old houses and cabins, including homes hurt by fire or storms. The debris goes out on our dump truck, and the lot is left clean for what comes next.
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We tear down single wide and double wide mobile homes and haul them off in our dump truck. The lot is left cleaned up and ready for a new home or a new pad.
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We tear down barns, garages, sheds and old store buildings with the excavator. The dump truck hauls the debris off and the spot is left clean.
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We break out old slabs, foundations, driveways and patios with the excavator. The broken concrete goes out in our dump truck.
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We clear brush and small trees off lots and acreage, then pull the stumps. The dump truck hauls the debris away, and the ground is ready to use.
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We cut house pads and driveways into sloped lots and dig for the foundation. Your build starts on level ground.
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We dig for footings and basements and cut level building pads into sloped lots. Extra dirt and rock leave in our dump truck.
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We take down dead and leaning trees with the excavator and haul the wood off in the dump truck. We also trim and prune limbs and handle storm cleanup.
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Retaining walls that hold a driveway or a house pad on a sloped mountain lot. You choose the material, and every wall gets drainage behind it.
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We spray seed and mulch over new lawns, graded sites, cleared ground and cut banks. Once the grass takes, its roots hold the soil in place.
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We haul off demolition, construction and storm debris with the excavator and the dump truck. Brush piles and stumps go too, and the site is left clean.
Learn MoreA few of the questions we hear most around Canton. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.
Tell us what has to come down or get cleared, and where the job is. Call or text (828) 342-1467 or (828) 361-8764, or send the form, and we set a time to look at it.
Tell us what you need done and where the property is. We look at the job and put the quote in writing.