Commercial interior demolition and selective strip-out.
Sofisa strips out commercial and industrial interiors across Toronto, Mississauga and the GTA — partitions, ceilings, flooring, millwork, washrooms and services. Selective removals on a floor that stays open, or a full strip-out back to bare shell.
Demolition is where a renovation schedule is won or lost. We self-perform it, so the crew taking the space apart and the crew rebuilding it answer to the same project manager and the same schedule.
What interior demolition covers
Interior demolition — strip-out, or selective demolition on most tender documents — is the removal of everything inside a building without touching what holds it up. Structure, envelope and base building stay. What the last floor plan or the last tenant put inside comes out.
Selective demolition
Only what the new drawings supersede. A wall line moves, a boardroom gets bigger, three offices become open floor. Everything around it stays live and undamaged, which is the harder version of the job — the tolerance for collateral damage is zero.
Full strip-out to shell
Everything inside goes: partitions, ceilings, flooring, millwork, washrooms, and mechanical and electrical distribution back to base-building points. The space is handed over as a clean shell ready for the next fit-out.
01What comes out
- Steel stud and drywall partitions, bulkheads and soffits
- T-bar grid, drywall ceilings and above-ceiling debris
- Flooring — carpet, tile, VCT, adhesives and underlayment
- Millwork, casework, reception desks and built-ins
- Washroom fixtures, partitions and finishes
- Kitchen and back-of-house equipment
- Doors, frames, hardware and interior glazing
- Non-structural masonry and infill
- Mechanical, electrical and sprinkler distribution cut back to base-building points
- Racking, mezzanine decking and industrial fit-up
Commercial spaces we strip out
- Office floors and whole office buildings
- Retail units and multi-store programs
- Restaurants and hospitality spaces
- Medical and dental clinics
- Warehouse and industrial space
- Base-building and landlord turnover work
Demolition on a floor that stays open
Most of this work happens in a building that never closes. The tenants above and below keep working, the store next door keeps trading, and the landlord expects the lobby to look the same on Monday morning as it did on Friday.
That means hoarding and poly go up before anything comes down, dust control runs inside the work zone, material leaves on protected paths, and noisy work moves to nights or weekends when the building's rules say so.
Containment and after-hours access change what a strip-out costs. They belong in the scope conversation before the number, not in a change order after it.
Where abatement, permits and the rebuild fit
Older commercial buildings often hold materials that have to come out before demolition does. Where that scope exists, it is abated first — we self-perform abatement, so it stays on one contract and one schedule instead of waiting on another contractor's availability.
Whether the work needs a permit depends on the municipality and on what is actually being removed. Our guide to commercial demolition permits in Ontario covers the question in more detail.
When the scope goes past the interior — slab openings, structural steel, concrete breaking, exterior walls — that is commercial demolition. Same team, different scope.
Most strip-outs are the first phase of a rebuild. Drywall and framing goes back in, then interior fit-out finishes the space.
Debris, disposal and what you get back
Everything that comes out has to leave the building, and on an occupied floor that is a logistics problem before it is a disposal problem — elevator bookings, dock windows, chute and bin placement, street occupancy.
Material is sorted on the way out where the site allows it, hauled off, and the space is swept down. What "ready" means gets agreed before we start — bare slab, capped services, patched deck — so the next trade can begin without a punch list of demolition leftovers.
How a strip-out runs
- 01
Site walk and scope — we walk the space with your drawings, confirm what stays and what goes, and flag anything that changes the sequence.
- 02
Quote — a written scope and price, with containment, access hours and disposal accounted for.
- 03
Pre-start — hoarding, protection, building notifications, dock and elevator bookings, and any abatement that has to happen first.
- 04
Demolition — phased so the building keeps running, with the work zone contained the whole time.
- 05
Haul-off and handover — material out, services capped, space swept, ready for the next trade.
Interior demolition questions
What is the difference between interior demolition and selective demolition?
Selective demolition is a subset of it. You remove only what the new drawings supersede and leave the rest intact. A full interior demolition takes the space back to shell. Most commercial jobs sit somewhere between the two.
Can you work while the building stays open?
Yes. Hoarding, dust control and phased work zones keep the rest of the floor running, and noisy work moves to nights or weekends when the building's rules or the tenants require it.
Do you handle the disposal?
Yes. Bins, chutes, dock and elevator bookings, haul-off and clean-up are part of the scope, not something you arrange separately.
What happens if there are hazardous materials?
That scope is identified before demolition begins and abated first. We self-perform abatement, so it stays on one contract instead of stalling while a second contractor is scheduled.
Can you do the rebuild as well?
Yes — drywall and framing, and full interior fit-out. Most clients hire us for both so demolition and rebuild sit on one schedule under one project manager.
What do you need to give us a price?
Drawings or a scope of work, the building's access rules and hours, and a site walk. If drawings do not exist yet, tell us what is coming out and we will walk it.
How is this different from commercial demolition?
Interior demolition stops at the structure. Commercial demolition includes it — slab openings, structural steel, concrete and exterior walls.
What areas do you cover?
Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Etobicoke, Oakville, Markham and the surrounding GTA.
Send the scope. We'll price the strip-out.
- (647) 963-4310
- info@sofisa.ca
- Sofisa Group Inc. · 600 Matheson Blvd W, Unit 5, Mississauga