Your questions answered · Knockdown rebuild
Do we need to move out before demolition,
and when do the services get cut?
The house has to be empty and dead before the excavator arrives: no power, no water, the sewer capped, the gas gone. Each of those is arranged by a different person on a different timetable, and one of them can hold up the whole job. Here's the order, and who does what.
Nathan Brain, carpenter and builder at Sabre
17 September 2026
5 min read
The order things come offMoving outPart of a bigger picture: the whole knockdown rebuild path, step by step.
When do we actually have to be out?
Before the asbestos removalists arrive, which is before demolition. Removal happens in an empty house with the area sealed, and it's the first trade on site. So the moving date is set by the asbestos date, not the demolition date, and the two can be some way apart.
Clear everything you want. Anything left in the house when the removalists seal it is gone. That includes the shed, the under-house storage and the things in the roof. Then the house is locked and the keys go to the builder.
How does the power come off?
This is the one with a hard rule and a lead time.
- You (or the builder, on your behalf) contact your electricity retailer and ask for the network connection to be removed for demolition. The retailer raises the service order with Energex.
- Energex removes the service line and its own assets from the house. The property's meter identifier (the NMI) is cancelled.
- Energex confirms in writing that the connection has been removed. Nothing is demolished until that letter exists.
“Building demolition or removal cannot, under any circumstances, start until Energex has confirmed in writing that the work to remove the connection has been completed.” Energex adds that you may be at risk of electrocution if demolition starts without that written confirmation.
Energex, Remove your connection. The request goes through your retailer, not Energex, and the retailer's timeframe is the one to ask about.
Ask your retailer, in the same call, about a temporary builder's supply for the new build. It's a separate connection, and the builder usually arranges it.
What about water and the sewer?
The water is turned off at the meter and the meter is dealt with through the water utility. The sewer is the part people don't know about: the sanitary drain on the property has to be capped so the demolition doesn't leave an open sewer connection on the block.
Council's demolition page says a plumbing approval may be needed to cap off the sanitary drain within your property, and it must be done by a licensed plumber. That's arranged before demolition and inspected. The new house connects to the same point later.
Gas, phone and internet
If the house has reticulated gas, the gas retailer disconnects and the meter is removed before demolition. Bottled gas is simply collected. Phone and internet are cancelled with the provider; the nbn connection to the old house is abolished and a new one is ordered for the new house late in the build. None of these stop demolition the way the power does, but a live gas meter on a demolition site is not something anyone wants to find.
Who arranges each one?
It depends on the builder and the contract, and the honest answer is: ask, and get it in writing. Some builders handle every disconnection as part of the demolition package. Some ask the owner to cancel the retail accounts (the retailer will only talk to the account holder) while the builder manages the plumber, the demolition contractor and the timing.
What matters is that one person owns the list. The last fortnight before demolition is where a job slips if the power letter hasn't come through, and that's a fortnight of paying for somewhere else to live.
Common questions
How long before demolition should we start the disconnections?
Ask your retailer for their current timeframe when you make the request; it isn't ours to promise. Start it as soon as the demolition date is pencilled in, not the week before.
Can we stay in the house until the day before?
Not usually. The asbestos removal comes first and the house is sealed for it. Once the power is off, the house isn't liveable anyway.
Does the builder need power on site during the build?
Yes, and it's a separate temporary connection, usually a builder's pole, arranged through a retailer for the site. It isn't the old house's connection.
What about the letterbox and the mail?
Redirect it. The block will have no letterbox for months. Small thing; it's the one people forget.
Sources: Energex, Remove your connection (residential and commercial connections); Brisbane City Council, Demolition or removal; Queensland Government, asbestos.qld.gov.au. Read 17 September 2026. Retailer and utility processes change; confirm the current process with yours. This is a plain-English guide from a builder, not legal advice.
Keep reading
Knockdown rebuildAsbestos
What is asbestos removal going to mean for our rebuild?
Most Bayside houses from before 1990 have it somewhere. Who's allowed to remove it, what happens before the demolisher arrives, and why it moves the price.
The nine things that move itWhat decides the cost
What decides the cost of a knockdown rebuild in Brisbane?
Not a price. The nine things that move it: the old house and what's in it, the block, the overlays, the ground, the size, the finish, the access and where you live meanwhile.
What stays and what goesThe pool, the shed, the fence
Can we keep the pool, the shed or the front fence in a knockdown rebuild?
Sometimes. What decides whether the pool, the shed, the fence, the driveway or the retaining wall survives: where it sits, what it's made of, what the machinery needs, and the rules.
Where most families start
A walk through your house with Nathan.
Nathan will give you the sequence for your job in writing, with who's responsible for each disconnection, so nothing surprises you in the last fortnight.
Book your walk-through with Nathan Call 0422 831 306
Already thinking about a rebuild? The free block check is on the same page.