Demolition and strip-out in Annecy.

Almost every renovation or restructuring project begins with a demolition phase. Whether it means knocking down a partition to open up a living room, fully stripping out a run-down flat in an old building in the old town, or removing an outbuilding to rebuild, demolition is the stage that determines the quality and safety of everything that follows. In Annecy, the building stock — stone buildings in the historic centre, 1960s-80s co-ownership blocks, lakeside houses and villas — calls for a case-by-case approach, because every structure behaves differently.

Demolition is not just a matter of sledgehammers and brute force: above all, it is a job of method and diagnosis. Locating load-bearing walls, identifying services to be isolated (water, gas, electricity), detecting asbestos or lead in older buildings, protecting the elements to be kept and organising rubble removal: every step is prepared in advance. In Annecy, the often narrow access to sites — old town alleys, pedestrian streets, co-ownership buildings with no manoeuvring yard — adds a real logistical constraint: a poorly planned demolition weakens the building and sends the cost of the renovation project soaring.

As a project manager working throughout the Annecy basin, Atelier NovAlp integrates demolition and strip-out into an overall vision of the project. We do not just demolish: we coordinate the diagnosis, planning permissions (particularly sensitive in Annecy's conservation area), site safety and responsible waste management, then move straight on to the rebuilding phase. One team, from the first swing of the sledgehammer to the handover of the works.

Partial demolition is by far the most common on our Annecy projects. It involves removing only part of the building while keeping the main structure: knocking down one or more non-load-bearing partitions to open up a home, opening a load-bearing wall to connect the kitchen to the living room, removing a floor, taking out a staircase or removing a dilapidated extension. It is the ideal option for modernising a flat in a co-ownership building or a lakeside house without rebuilding everything.

Opening a load-bearing wall deserves particular attention, all the more so in Annecy's many co-ownership buildings. Unlike a dividing partition, a load-bearing wall contributes to the building's stability: opening it requires a structural study (engineering firm), the installation of a support beam (RSJ, HEA or concrete lintel) and rigorous temporary propping. In a co-ownership building, approval from the general meeting is often required. We coordinate the whole process to guarantee the stability of the building.

Total demolition, which is less common in the town centre, concerns buildings at the end of their life, outbuildings (garages, annexes, conservatories) or structures to be entirely rebuilt, more frequent in outlying municipalities such as Poisy, Pringy or La Balme-de-Sillingy. It usually requires a demolition permit, prior disconnection of services and heavier removal logistics. Finally, strip-out before renovation sits between the two: the building is emptied of all its non-structural elements to start again from a sound shell. Depending on the scale of your project, we guide you towards the most appropriate solution in technical and budgetary terms.

An interior strip-out means taking a building back to its bare shell, keeping only its load-bearing structure: load-bearing walls, floors, roof structure. Everything else is removed — floor and wall coverings, non-load-bearing partitions, suspended ceilings, internal joinery, old electrical and plumbing services, kitchen and bathroom fittings. It is the stage that transforms an ageing property — typically an older flat in an Annecy co-ownership building — into a clean “ shell ”, ready for a modern renovation.

The strip-out is a key moment for diagnosis: once the building is bare, its true condition is revealed — quality of the floors, presence of damp (common in properties close to the lake), condition of the roof structure, exact routing of services. It is precisely because we are a project manager that this stage is so valuable with us: we read the building during the strip-out, adjust the plans if necessary and anticipate good and bad surprises alike before starting the new works.

In practice, a strip-out proceeds room by room, with systematic protection of the elements to be kept, careful removal, sorting of materials as work progresses and regular rubble removal — all the more delicate when site access is via a narrow stairwell or a street with restricted traffic. By coordinating strip-out and renovation within the same assignment, we avoid breaks in the schedule, duplicated work and grey areas between the parties involved — saving time and money for our clients in Annecy and the Annecy basin.

Before any demolition or strip-out on an older building, an asbestos and lead survey is mandatory. Asbestos was widely used in tile adhesives, floor tiles, sprayed coatings and ducts before it was banned in 1997; lead is found in old paints, common in the stone buildings of Annecy's old town. Any work on asbestos-containing materials requires a certified asbestos removal firm, with containment, protective equipment and waste treatment through approved channels. We coordinate this survey and, where necessary, asbestos removal by a specialist firm before starting the demolition.

As for planning permissions, the rules depend on the nature of the works and are particularly strict in Annecy. Total or partial demolition that changes the exterior appearance usually requires a demolition permit, especially as Annecy has a conservation area in the old town and many zones surrounding protected monuments where the opinion of the ABF heritage architect (Architecte des Bâtiments de France) may be required. Altering an opening in the façade requires a prior declaration (déclaration préalable). Conversely, an interior strip-out or the removal of non-load-bearing partitions, without touching the exterior, generally requires no permission. We check the local plan (PLU) and submit the applications for you.

On site, safety is non-negotiable: prior disconnection and isolation of services, propping of weakened structures, safety perimeter, personal protective equipment, dust control and protection of access routes. In co-ownership buildings or with shared walls — a very common situation in the dense fabric of central Annecy — we also take care to protect common areas and neighbouring properties. This rigour protects the workers, the building and its surroundings alike.

Demolition generates a large volume of rubble, and managing it is now a major regulatory and environmental issue. On our sites, waste is sorted at source, by stream: inert waste (concrete, bricks, roof tiles, floor tiles) goes for crushing to be reused as backfill; timber, metals, plaster and recyclable waste are separated; hazardous waste (asbestos, lead) is treated separately through approved channels, with a waste tracking form.

This responsible approach allows a large proportion of materials to be recycled and greatly reduces landfill. It also meets the traceability obligations now imposed on building sites. We organise all the logistics: sizing and rotation of skips — a real headache in central Annecy, where parking and use of the public highway are limited —, choice of waste disposal sites and sorting facilities in the Annecy basin, and preparation of hazardous waste tracking forms (BSD) for dangerous materials.

By entrusting your demolition to a single point of contact, you avoid having to manage skip hire, permits to occupy the public highway, rotations and proof of treatment yourself. Everything is included in our service, from removal to recycling, which simplifies your project and guarantees full traceability — a point that is increasingly scrutinised for properties in Annecy and Haute-Savoie.