After you have made a detailed plan, set a budget, talked to your insurance company, and acquired all the necessary permits, the first thing to do when gutting a house is demolition. You can pay your contractor to complete this work for you or you can rent a dumpster and do the work yourself depending on the size and scope of the demolition. If you are taking out walls, especially load-bearing walls, you may want to leave that kind of work to the professionals and do the smaller stuff on your own.