A Look Inside Demolition and Site Clearing

Over the years, contractors have been hired to tear down buildings and other structures in order to pave the way for a new building to be constructed on that vacant property. There are several common methods to demolish a building: manually, implosion and deconstruction.

The demolition process is a lot simpler for smaller buildings because all it requires is a pull through manual labor or mechanically through the means of large hydraulic equipment, such as bulldozers, excavators, cranes and elevated work platforms. For larger buildings, a wrecking ball is needed.

What was the largest building to be demolished in history? In 1967 and 1968, the 47-storey, 1908 Singer Building in New York City was torn down and replaced by One Liberty Plaza.

Demolition and site clearing involve extensive planning. It is imperative that a site plan is developed that provides details about all of the landscape elements that are to be removed, relocated or modified. The plan should also ideally include the location of dumpsters, site entrances and exits, construction limit lines, fences, staging areas and so on.

If any trees are to be removed from the site in question, information about it should be reviewed one year in advance. If any landscape plants and trees are going to remain on the property, they must be properly protected. This could be done through non-movable construction fence.

Any site materials that will be reused, such as topsoil, subsoil and gravel, must be specifically stated. When a site is being cleared for demolition, it is mandated that signs must be put up to help control and detour traffic. These signs should meet the specific requirements with respect to size, design, type and location. The contractor performing the site clearing and demolition services also holds the responsibility of clearing up and disposing off the debris according to the laws and ordinances of that particular region.

It is also the contractor's responsibility to ensure that adjacent sidewalks and streets are not damaged and if this occurs then the damage caused by the contractor will be repaired to its original condition by the contractor at his expense. It is also important to ensure that all utility services such as water, gas, electricity, steam and telephone are disconnected before the demolition begins.

It is imperative that these tasks are completed since no work can commence on a property before all utilities are disconnected. All storm and sanitary sewers must also be sealed before the demolition. Once demolition begins, the contractor should ensure that the process does not interfere with adjacent property and does not hinder people that are using the adjacent property or any free passage around the property that is being demolished.

To take a look at some of the most impressive demolition projects, one doesn't have to look any further than YouTube. There are numerous first-hand videos - or secondary video from news broadcasts - that depict these demolitions. Here is a video consisting of the best building demolitions so far this year.