Demolition Contractor in Anne Arundel County, MD

Demolition in a county shaped by the water

Anne Arundel County has hundreds of miles of tidal shoreline, and that shapes how demolition gets done here. A waterfront teardown in Severna Park or Arnold, an older cottage on a narrow lot in a shore community, a commercial building along Ritchie Highway, and an outbuilding on a rural property in the south county all come with different access, permitting and environmental questions. Getting those questions answered before the machines arrive is most of the job.

Beltway Demolition is the demolition division of WMB LLC, a Maryland contractor holding Maryland Home Improvement Commission license #154299 and Maryland Home Builder Registration #9597. We work with homeowners, builders, investors and general contractors across the county.

Demolition services in Anne Arundel County

• House demolition — full teardowns for a rebuild or lot sale, partial demolition for additions, and garages, sheds, outbuildings, decks and pools.
• Commercial demolition — retail, restaurant, office and light industrial buildings, and clearing sites for redevelopment.
• Interior demolition — gut renovations, kitchen and bath tear-outs, and tenant strip-outs.
• Concrete removal — slabs, foundations, driveways, patios and pool decks, with backfill and grading.
• Site clearing and hauling — leftover structures, debris and brush removed and the lot rough graded.

Permits: county or city

For most of the county, demolition permits are issued by the Anne Arundel County Department of Inspections and Permits. The City of Annapolis is an incorporated city with its own permitting, so a project inside the city limits goes through the city instead. Properties in the Annapolis historic district, or designated historic sites elsewhere, can need historic preservation review before demolition is approved. We confirm which office has jurisdiction over your address before we file.

Waterfront lots and the Critical Area

Land close to tidal water in Maryland falls within the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area, which carries extra rules on clearing, disturbance and erosion control. Much of Anne Arundel's waterfront property is affected. On those lots we plan where equipment can travel and stage, how sediment will be controlled, and what vegetation has to be protected, and we follow the conditions attached to the permit. If your builder or engineer has a Critical Area plan, share it with us at the quote stage.

Utilities, wells and septic systems

Before a building comes down, its utilities have to be disconnected. Electric and gas service in the county is generally provided by BGE. Public water and sewer, where a property has them, are run by the county. Many homes in the county are on private wells and septic systems instead, and those need to be properly abandoned as part of a teardown, which usually involves the county health department. We coordinate the disconnect requests and build the lead times into the schedule.

Older homes and hazardous materials

Many of the county's older cottages and mid-century homes were built when asbestos-containing materials and lead-based paint were common. We do not perform abatement ourselves; where a survey is needed we arrange it, and licensed abatement contractors handle any removal before demolition begins. The survey and clearance paperwork goes in your file.

Before you call

• The address, and whether the property is waterfront or inside Annapolis city limits.
• Photos of the structure, the driveway and the route a truck would take onto the lot.
• Whether the property is on public water and sewer or a well and septic system.
• Your builder's site plan and timeline if you are rebuilding.

We also work in Prince George's County, Montgomery County and across the rest of Maryland. For permits, timing and cost, see the demolition FAQ.