Deconstructing a house is more daunting than constructing it. As much as one dreads it, one may still have to go through with it for certain reasons. There can be a number of reasons to demolish a building—for abiding by the law, making room for new construction, or eliminating a safety hazard.
Whatever the reason, house demolition still makes us lose our sleep. However, with the right planning and service provider, you can make it fairly bearable.
Of all the decisions you will have to make for demolition, choosing a demolition technique is very important. Each technique will have its pros and cons; thus, you need to go with the one that suits you best.
Of course, your demolition contractor will help you make the decision, but it doesn’t hurt learning about the several deconstruction methods we use in the present day. Here’s a list of the most commonly used demolition techniques.
Engineering Vs Non-Engineering Methods
Before anything else, let’s first see the primary distinction between demolition methods: Engineering and non-engineering.
Engineering demolition comprises various techniques like mechanical methods, implosions, deconstruction, etc. On the other hand, a non-engineering demolition refers to manual destruction, which uses sledgehammers, drills, wire cutters, jackhammers, etc.
On the other hand, engineering demolition has developed varied approaches. Let’s see 7 of those approaches today!
- Wrecking Ball
This mechanical demolition method is adopted for houses higher than 6 or 7 storeys. In this technique, the demolishers use a crane with a steel ball hung to it. The ironl ball is then pulled and released in the direction of the building. Every time the ball makes a strike, a part of the building will collapse.
Again, there are two methods to do this—vertical drop and swing action. Both these methods need an operator to manoeuvre the ball.
However, one reason to avoid this technique: it is difficult to control the trajectory of the ball after it makes the strike. Thus, it almost makes it impossible for targeted strikes.
- Concrete Sawing
It’s a useful technique for buildings that are being demolished and repaired. In other words, the precision of this method is particularly handy in such projects. For example, you can use it when making an opening in a slab or a wall or breaking concrete in the basement.
Other pros of concrete sawing are controlled noise and vibrations. These make concrete sawing a suitable technique for residential demolitions.
- Thermic Lance
In this demolition technique, demolishers break reinforcement steel and concrete by melting them at a high temperature, approximately 2000° to 4000° C. The use of a lance, either powered or metal, is the key here.
Therefore, this method requires taking a bunch of special measures for safety. Usually, the thermic lance method is opted for when the other methods aren’t possible.
- Pusher Arm
Another important demolition technique is the pusher arm. With this method, a machine like a hydraulic excavator is used. It is lifted with a steel pusher arm and pushes the building from the outside.
- Pressure Jetting
In this demolition technique, a high-pressure water jet (between 250 and 300 mPa) is discharged from the nozzle into the concrete surface. The jet causes abrasion to pierce through ordinary concrete.
The jet heads are typically small, and this method aims to loosen the aggregate by washing away softer mortar.
- Implosion
The inward collapsing of a building is how the implosion technique works. By removing the support structure, a building can be easily demolished.
The procedure begins after carefully analysing the building’s blueprint. Then explosives are used on key areas of the building at different levels from the bottom up. That is, the explosion should begin from the lower level and move to the top level in a sequence. Upon implosion, the building collapses within the area of its construction.
The whole theory of this method is that implosion occurs when external pressure is greater than internal pressure. This is a much more advanced method for demolishing high-rise buildings.
Implosion is adopted when many buildings are nearby, and you need to demolish one without disturbing or damaging the others. It happens in a matter of minutes.
- Deconstruction
The last common technique of house demolition in Melbourne is deconstruction. It is simply the reverse process of construction. In this, there’s structural deconstruction and non-structural deconstruction.
For instance, dismantling doors and windows comes under non-structural deconstruction. Whereas dismantling beams, walls, and columns comes under structural deconstruction.
Conclusion
Demolition is a process. If you take proper steps in the right order, you will get by fine. A demolition process normally begins with finding a demolition crew for the job. Partner with the right one, and your job gets easier.
Merhi Group is a great partner for demolition services if you’re looking for one.
Once you choose a contractor, a pre-demolition assessment will take place to determine a plan. A lot of factors influences this plan:
- Building type
- Size of the building
- Location
- Hazardous materials
- Complete or partial demolition, etc.
Only after devising the plan will you be able to begin the demolition procedure. We hope you learnt quite a bit about demolitions in this blog post. Don’t hesitate to comment if you have any questions!
