Your scope and the work involved
How our crew handles the work
For a commercial handover, the starting point is a list of finishes to remove and building elements to protect. Compare the commercial work photos with your space, then confirm the removal boundaries in a walkthrough.
We start with a walkthrough and a written scope that lists each element as remove, protect or leave. Ceiling tiles and grid, partition walls, millwork, flooring, washroom fixtures and abandoned equipment are the usual removals. Sprinkler heads, fire alarm devices, electrical panels and base building mechanical are usually protected, because they belong to the landlord or feed other units.
Before work begins we ask for the Designated Substance Survey for the unit. Older ceiling tile, drywall compound, floor tile and mastic can contain asbestos, and those materials are handled under O. Reg. 278/05 before general removal starts. If a survey has not been done, we tell you that up front rather than working around it.
Occupied plazas and multi-tenant buildings need extra care. We agree access routes, loading times and elevator use with property management, plan dust controls for the assessed materials and work, and schedule the loudest work inside the City of Markham's permitted construction hours. Debris leaves in covered bins or trailers, not through the shared corridor at the busiest time of day.
At handover the unit is broom clean, the protected items are intact and the scope sheet is signed off line by line. That gives the next trade, or the next tenant, a known starting point.
See this kind of removal
Use the work collection to compare visible conditions with your project, then discuss the scope with us.
View this service's work collectionMarkham and wider service coverageWhat to expect
What to expect, step by step
Step 1
Site walkthrough
We walk the unit with you or your property manager and note every element to remove, protect or leave.
Step 2
Written scope and survey check
You receive a written scope. We confirm the Designated Substance Survey and any abatement that must happen first.
Step 3
Building coordination
Access, loading, elevator use, fire system impairments and working hours are agreed with the landlord or GC.
Step 4
Strip-out
Finishes, partitions, ceilings and fixtures come out in the agreed order, with the assessed dust controls in place and debris hauled as we go.
Step 5
Clean handover
The unit is swept, protected items are checked, and the scope is signed off line by line.
Photos from our jobs
Commercial Strip-Outs Commercial Strip-Outs
Local questions
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need a permit for a commercial strip-out in Markham?
- It depends on what is being removed. Taking out non-structural finishes often falls under the building permit for the new fit-out, while work affecting structure, fire separations or life safety systems needs its own review. We recommend confirming with City of Markham Building Standards before work starts.
- Can you work while the rest of the plaza stays open?
- Often, subject to the assessed work, separation, access and essential services. We agree occupied areas, restrictions, dust controls and debris routes with the project team and property manager before work starts.
- Who arranges the Designated Substance Survey?
- Under OHSA section 30 the owner must provide the list of designated substances before the work is tendered. On a leased unit that can be the landlord or the tenant depending on who is commissioning the work, so check your lease and ask us if you are unsure what to request.
- Will you leave the sprinklers and fire alarm in place?
- Unless the scope says otherwise, yes. Life safety devices and base building services are protected, and any impairment is arranged through the building owner and their fire protection contractor.
Decisions to prepare for this work
- Which drawing revision releases a demolition area?
- Build a retail strip-out enquiry drawing pack
- Accept an industrial unit one zone at a time
- Strip-out planning beside a retained shopfront
- Release doors and hardware without losing building security
- Map services before a commercial counter comes out
- Resolve a shared loading route conflict before strip-out
- Keep follow-on trades out of an unreleased workface
- Keep a demolition daily exception log that prompts decisions
- Agree landlord witness points before finishes disappear
- Resolve conflicting landlord and tenant removal instructions
- Confirm authority before removing retail signs and branding
- Reconcile old floor markings with a warehouse removal plan
- Plan keys, alarms and opening-up for a strip-out crew
Related
Related services
Plan the next use of the property
Commercial fit-outs (34)
- Gym refurbishment: separate equipment, fit-out and flooring
- Updating industrial staff areas without stripping the whole unit
- Combining or dividing leased units: define the demolition around the new tenancy
- Choosing the first hotel renovation phase: rooms, corridors and shared dependencies
- Restaurant changeover: compare the kitchen and dining-room removal packages
- Reconfiguring a salon or spa: compare private rooms with an open station layout
- Start a retail refurbishment programme with a location-specific removal package
- Office refurbishment: retain useful rooms or strip the whole floor?
- Office strip-outs for commercial renovation projects
- Restaurant demolition and strip-outs
- Commercial flooring removal for renovation projects
- Retail strip-outs for tenant changes and renovations
- From warehouse to public venue: define demolition for the new layout
- Closed clinic strip-out after specialist systems are released
- Condominium lobby and amenity-area demolition
- Food-court strip-out for the next tenant
- Office partitions: retain, relocate or demolish?
- Re-measure a partly stripped commercial unit before restarting
- Automotive showroom refurbishment: the ordinary demolition package
- Grocery-store refurbishment after specialist equipment removal
- Demolition packages for several lawfully vacant apartments
- Demolition before an automotive service-bay refit
- Comparing commercial premises before the fit-out is chosen
- Commercial ceiling removal before a new fit-out
- Ordinary demolition for a theatre or auditorium refurbishment
- Demolition when an office becomes retail space, or a shop becomes an office
- Concrete demolition inside a planned facility shutdown
- Commercial building-services retrofit: plan the demolition contribution
- Private training-centre demolition before a new layout
- Demolition within a vacant childcare-premises renovation
- Commercial laundry refit: when does the building need demolition?
- Community-facility refurbishment: ordinary rooms and retained features
- The demolition contribution to a commercial-to-residential conversion
- Pool-area refurbishment: ordinary interiors around a retained pool