Hiring a suitable demolition contractor is quite a challenging job. There are all types of building and commercial demolitions contractors, from residential, industrial to commercial. People tend to agree on which expert to choose. There are different requirements for each of these types. Industrial demolition is related to large scale demolition. It refers to breaking down of large scale factories or plants or bigger facilities. It is done when there is some danger from a hazardous component including fuel, asbestos and oil. Because of this it requires specialized and skilled demolition contractors. On the other hand, commercial demolition means breaking down any school or any commercial building. Commercial demolition needs to be finished within tight quarters surrounded by buildings on all sides. For this reasons safety should be ensured while dismantling commercial buildings. The work of a commercial demolition contractor is in fact less dangerous compared to that of industrial demolition contractors as there is less risk of exposure to hazardous elements.
Some Popular Techniques
The procedure of building and commercial demolitions depends on several factors such as the location of the building, the purpose of tearing down the building, the procedure of disposing the debris etc. Following are few ways to tearing down a building.
- Implosion: Implosion is a fierce inward collapse that will ultimately result in the elimination of structure supports. In this process lots of explosives are used to abolish the critical vertical structure. Here time plays an important role. The proper detonation time and placement of charges are essential so that the building collapses due to the weight of the structure. This method is mostly used in urban areas.Analysis of the structural blueprint is very essential to know about the materials with which the building is made. The blaster crew should also asses the building structure to identify other possible areas which can be blasted. Finally it is very important to decide what type of explosive to be used, how to position them in the building and also how much time it should take to detonate.
- High Reach Arm: Another traditional method for pulling down any building is high reach arm. The limit which defines a high reach demolition is when it covers a height of 20 meters. This method mainly needs a machine. The base machine can be a tank, excavator, engine or others. A demolition arm which has three parts or a telescopic boom and a primary tool is joined to the base machine.
There are a variety of tools which can be attached to the base machine. This method is used for masonry and concrete that is reinforced with steel and other mixed material constructions. The factors which may affect the whole process based on high reach demolition technology are height of the structure, conditions of the site, shape and location of the construction.
- Crane and Ball Technique: Crane and ball technique is one of the most widely used and oldest methods for building and commercial demolitions. A ball weighing up to 13500 pounds and a crane is used to abolish masonry and concrete structures. The ball is either swung into the construction or is dropped down. There are some limitations to this process:
- It involves additional work of removing rebar
- This method requires only experienced and well trained crane operators.
- There may be risk of missing the target with the ball, thus there is lack of smoothness in controlling the ball’s swing.
- This method cannot be used on buildings whose height is larger than that of the crane, proximity of electrical lines and working room.
- This method is very messy and noisy as lots of dust, vibrations and noise are produced.
