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Barn, shed or mobile home: Which is coming down?
You want bare, clean ground where the old barn stood, and a good Demolition Contractor in San Antonio hands it back to you that way. Longhorn Land Clearing & Excavation takes down small rural buildings and flatwork and hauls every load away. The first step is sorting out what kind of job you’ve got, and size and frame decide that.
A hay barn or pole barn with a tin roof and deep-set posts is a barn demolition job. There’s more frame, more metal and more buried under it. Smaller outbuildings, like a storage shed, a lean-to off a pen or an old pump house, fall under shed demolition. That’s lighter work on a smaller footprint, and the machine that fits it can be smaller too.
A single-wide or double-wide left sitting on the land calls for a mobile home teardown, and we handle mobile home demolition as its own job. David’s got over two decades of clearing Hill Country and South Texas ground behind him. Teardowns are part of the clearing and dirt work we do as an excavating contractor from our yard off Culebra Road, west of Loop 1604.
Slabs, fence and piles left after a teardown
Once a building’s gone, or even where there never was one, the concrete and wire left behind are a separate call. Thin concrete that only carried foot traffic or a pickup is flatwork, and we take it out as concrete removal. A structural slab under a former house or barn is thicker and usually holds rebar, so slab removal is where it belongs. An old fence line you’re done with comes out as fence removal, whether it’s still standing or lying flat.
Sometimes the building’s already down and it’s the mess that’s left. If someone else tore it down and walked away from the pile, you need a debris haul-off, and we’d book that as demolition debris removal. A pile that came off the land and never was part of a building is a different job, called debris removal. When an old homestead’s grown over and a new house or barn is going there next, we’d open that ground back up with site clearing.
County floodplain and septic rules before you rebuild
Medina County wants a floodplain permit for any development in its floodplain, and it counts filling, grading and excavation as development. Backfilling an old slab spot on a Medina tract in a mapped floodplain? We’ll ask where the tract sits, and you check with the county before the regrade’s booked.
In Kendall County, the County Engineer’s Office administers the Flood Damage Prevention Order, so a new barn near a creek is that office’s question. We’ll take the old one down and leave you clean ground to build on. The same office issues OSSF permits, short for on-site sewage facilities, meaning septic systems. An old mobile home or barn bathroom often sits on one, so you mark the tank and field and the machines stay off. If a job like septic work or power lines isn’t ours, we’ll say so up front.
In Comal County, new construction applies for a Flood Plain Development Permit so the County Engineer can tell if it’s in a special flood hazard area. We’ll leave the old barn’s spot clean for whatever that permit allows. Pulling piers or footings counts as digging. Texas law, per the Railroad Commission, wants an 811 call at least two days before anyone digs. That ticket’s in before the first bucket goes down.
Old structures we take down
- Pole barns, hay barns and horse barns
- Storage sheds, lean-tos and pump houses
- Single-wide and double-wide mobile homes
- Pipe corrals and old cattle pens
- Barbed wire and old fencing lines
- Slabs, walks, aprons and old steps
Work we leave to someone else
- Houses and commercial buildings
- Interior demolition of any kind
- Shutting off power, gas or water
- Septic tank or drain field work
- Drainage and erosion control work
- Engineering or permit paperwork
How a teardown job runs, call to clean ground
One rusted shed and a whole homestead with a barn, a trailer and a slab go through the same five steps. The bigger job’s just got more loads to haul.
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Call and send photos
Sarah answers every call to (210) 866‑3822, any hour, and she’ll ask what’s standing and where it sits. Then send a photo of each structure and a pin on the map through the estimate form.
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Confirm the utilities are off
The first thing we’ll ask about each building is whether its power, gas and water are off. That part’s yours and your providers’, because we don’t disconnect utilities, and no machine should touch a live line.
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Get the estimate back
The estimate’s free and built from what you sent. A site walk gets set up only when the pictures can’t answer something, such as what’s under a dirt barn floor.
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Teardown with the machines
A mini excavator with a hydraulic thumb pulls each structure down in pieces a grapple bucket can carry. We’re licensed and insured, which counts when that machine’s working near your house, a barn you’re keeping or a good fence.
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Haul-off and clean ground
Every load leaves in a dump trailer, and the spot’s raked smooth. Nails and scraps get picked up too, so the dirt work contractor who tore it down leaves ground you can mow.
Demolition
Our demolition services
Barn Demolition
Old pole barns and hay barns with rusted purlins come down with an excavator and thumb. David runs the crews, and we sort metal roofing, wood and concrete, then pull the piers so the ground’s clean.
Shed Demolition
Sheds, lean-tos and old pump houses are small jobs, but the floors, skids and footings still have to come up. We’ll confirm the power’s off, knock it down, haul the load, and rake the spot clean.
Mobile Home Demolition
We’ll take an old single-wide down to bare ground. The well gets marked and utilities confirmed off, then the skirting, tie-downs, axles and steel frame come apart, with the metal sorted for scrap.
Concrete Removal
Cracked sidewalks, a broken driveway apron, old steps and pier blocks are flatwork, and they break out with the excavator. We cut rebar and mesh, haul the rubble off, and backfill what’s left.
Slab Removal
House and barn slabs can hide grade beams, piers and post-tension cables, so we confirm what’s in there before breaking anything. Then the excavator and breaker take it apart and the rubble’s hauled.
Fence Removal
Pull up a grown-in fence and you’ll find barbed wire buried in brush, a hazard to livestock. We pull T-posts and cedar posts, cut out pipe corners, roll the wire and haul it. We don’t build fence.
Demolition Debris Removal
Tore down a barn or shed yourself, or had a crew do it? We’ll load the lumber, metal roofing, block and concrete with a grapple, sort it for scrap or the landfill, and run a magnet over the spot.
Site Clearing
An old barn site usually comes with more than the barn: cedar grown up around it, brush in the pens, stumps where a yard was. Once the teardown’s done, we’ll clear the rest so the next build has room.
Debris Removal
Got brush heaps, downed limbs and old fence wire around the teardown? They’re loaded with a grapple and hauled off with everything else, or we’ll mulch the brush on site if you’d rather keep it there.
Did you know?
In 1876, salesman Pete McManus and his young partner John Warne Gates built a barbed wire corral in downtown San Antonio. They drove cattle into it while cattlemen watched. The wire didn’t give, Gates walked the crowd into the Menger Hotel to take orders, and demand took off.
FAQs about demolition contractor in San Antonio
Before the barn comes down
If the building’s still standing, it’s a demolition job, and if it’s already a pile, it’s hauling. Either way, Sarah can sort out which over the phone, and se habla español.
How much does it cost to tear down an old barn near San Antonio?
Barn demolition cost depends on the building’s size, whether it’s metal or wood framed, and what it sits on. A slab or piers mean more breaking and hauling. Disposal adds up too, because metal roofing, lumber and concrete each go to different places. Access for an excavator and dump trailers, plus any old fencing or pens attached to the barn, adds time. Longhorn Land Clearing & Excavation gives free estimates from photos of the structure and a map pin.
What needs to happen before a barn or shed is demolished?
Power, gas and water to the building have to be confirmed off, and any water well or drain field nearby should be marked. Take out anything you want to keep, like tin, doors or old lumber, before demolition day. Inside a city, ask about demolition permits before the work is booked. Mention any pens or fencing tied to the building, so the crew knows whether they’re staying or going.
How do you get rid of an old mobile home on rural land?
An old mobile home is torn down in place with an excavator and grapple, then loaded and hauled off in dump trailers. Before that, you confirm the utilities are off, the skirting and loose contents come out, and the metal frame is separated for scrap. The piers or pad under it can come out at the same time, so the ground’s ready for a new home or a barn. Longhorn Land Clearing & Excavation handles mobile home demolition on acreage around San Antonio and the surrounding counties.
Can a concrete slab be removed and the spot used for a new pad?
Yes, the slab is broken up, the concrete and rebar are loaded out, and any footings or piers come out with it. The ground underneath is then filled, compacted and graded so it’s ready for a new pad built to the plans. Old farm ground around Castroville and Lytle, where new homesites now sit beside older agricultural parcels, can have a slab or two to clear first.
What kinds of structures does a rural demolition contractor take down?
A rural demolition contractor takes down barns, sheds, mobile homes, pipe corrals, old fencing and concrete flatwork like slabs and driveways. Longhorn Land Clearing & Excavation works at that scale, on small structures and flatwork on acreage and homesites. We don’t take on houses, commercial buildings or interior demolition.
How do I get rid of an old barbed wire fence?
Old barbed wire comes out in sections and gets rolled, then the T-posts are pulled and the wood or cedar posts are dug or cut out. Brush grown into the fence gets mulched or grubbed first so the wire can be reached. The rolled wire and posts are hauled off, and the fence line can be graded smooth afterward. On Hill Country tracts where cedar’s grown up through the wire, the brush and the fence often come out together.
What happens to debris after a rural demolition job?
Debris gets sorted on site, with metal roofing, pipe and wire kept apart from wood and concrete. It’s then loaded into dump trailers and hauled to the right disposal or recycling site. Hauling is the plan because counties restrict burning. Wilson County, for one, has used orders that ban burning non-agricultural debris in its unincorporated areas. Longhorn Land Clearing & Excavation leaves the site as clean ground or a clean pad.
Can a storm-damaged barn be torn down safely?
Yes, but a storm-damaged barn is less predictable than a sound one, so it comes down by machine instead of by hand. An excavator with a thumb pulls the structure down from a safe distance, starting with loose roofing and leaning walls. After a storm like the July 2026 tornado on San Antonio’s northwest side, keep people and livestock away from a damaged barn until it’s down. Call before anyone climbs on it to salvage tin or lumber.
Is it worth repairing an old barn or tearing it down?
Tear it down if the posts are rotted at the ground, the frame leans or the roof’s rusted through. Repair money on a barn like that tends to go into a building that keeps failing. A barn with a sound frame and only surface damage may be worth a builder’s look. Tearing down and building new also lets you put the replacement where it fits your plans for the land. Longhorn Land Clearing & Excavation handles the teardown, haul-off and new pad, so you can price both options side by side.
How long does it take to tear down a shed or small barn?
A shed or small barn usually comes down fast, and most of the time goes to sorting and hauling the debris. Size, metal or wood framing, a slab to break out, and the number of trailer loads all set the timeline. Wet clay ground can delay hauling until it dries. We’ll give a timeline along with the free estimate.