A big shire with distinct housing types
Shoalhaven runs from Berry in the north to well south of Ulladulla, and the demolition work reflects that spread.
Nowra and Bomaderry hold the region's main concentration of post-war suburban housing — brick veneer and fibro on regular blocks, much of it now at the age where a rebuild makes more sense than another round of repairs.
The coastal villages — Culburra, Callala, Sanctuary Point, Vincentia, Huskisson and south toward Ulladulla — carry a large stock of mid-century holiday houses and shacks. Many were lightly built, most were built with fibro, and a significant number are now being replaced.
Rural and rural-residential land across the shire brings the farm-building work: sheds, outbuildings, disused cottages and accumulated material on properties that have changed hands.
Asbestos is the defining issue here
If there is one thing to take from this page, it is that Shoalhaven's older housing stock is very likely to contain asbestos.
The post-war and holiday-house construction that dominates the region falls squarely within the period when asbestos cement was standard, and beach shacks and weekenders from the 1950s to 1970s are among the most likely structures of all. Wall sheeting, roofing, eaves, bathroom and laundry linings, sheds and fencing.
So the process does not vary: a hazardous materials survey before demolition on anything pre-1990, removal by a separately licensed asbestos removalist, clearance, then general demolition. We refer that work rather than absorbing it into a demolition scope, and the asbestos page explains why that distinction matters.
Distance is a real cost line
The Shoalhaven is large, and demolition waste has to travel. Cartage distance to appropriate disposal facilities is a genuine component of the price, and it varies significantly between a job in central Nowra and one at Ulladulla or Sanctuary Point.
We price it from the site rather than applying a regional average, because averaging it would overcharge the closer jobs and undercharge the distant ones.
Approvals
Shoalhaven City Council is the consent authority — a different council to Kiama to the north and to Wingecarribee in the Southern Highlands, with its own controls and processes.
Parts of the shire carry environmental, coastal or bushfire-related overlays, and those can affect whether a demolition can proceed as complying development or requires development consent. Heritage applies in pockets, notably around Berry.
As always: a contractor can tell you what similar jobs nearby have needed. The council or an accredited certifier decides. The approvals page sets out the pathways.
Coastal block access
Some of the older coastal blocks are genuinely tight — narrow frontages, sandy ground, established vegetation and limited room to manoeuvre a machine or stand a truck. That affects machine selection and the number of loads, and it is worth a look before a number is given.
Note also that vegetation removal is a separate approval to demolition, and on coastal blocks it attracts particular attention. See site clearing.
What we take on
House demolition, garage and shed removal, pool removal, concrete removal, site clearing and strip outs across Nowra, Bomaderry, Berry, Culburra, Sanctuary Point, Vincentia, Huskisson and the wider Shoalhaven.
See the 2026 cost bands.
Call 02 4404 2421 or send the property details through — including roughly when it was built.
Frequently asked questions
Do you travel to Nowra and the Shoalhaven?
Yes, and it is a regular part of the service area rather than an occasional trip. Because the shire is large and spread out, travel and cartage distance to disposal facilities do form part of the price — a property at Ulladulla or Sanctuary Point carries more cartage than one in central Nowra. It is priced from the site rather than averaged.
Is asbestos common in Shoalhaven housing?
Very. A large share of the region's older housing stock, particularly the post-war and holiday-house building of the 1950s through 1970s, used asbestos cement sheeting extensively. Beach shacks and weekenders from that period are among the most likely structures to contain it. Survey before demolition; removal is by a separately licensed asbestos removalist.
What about demolishing an old holiday house or shack?
It is common work here. The considerations are usually asbestos, which is likely; access, which on some coastal blocks is genuinely tight; and approvals, since coastal and environmental overlays apply in parts of the shire and can affect the pathway. None of it is unusual — it just needs establishing before a price is set.
Which council covers the area?
Shoalhaven City Council, one of the largest local government areas in NSW, running from Berry in the north to south of Ulladulla. It is a different authority to Kiama and to Wingecarribee, with its own controls, and parts of the shire carry environmental, coastal or bushfire-related overlays that affect what pathway a demolition takes.