Basic steps of the demolition process
The demolition process is not just the act of demolishing itself, but includes several phases ranging from planning to waste management, being the most common ones, the ones listed below:
- Planning and elaboration of the project
- Application for the corresponding licenses and permits to the relevant authorities, as appropriate in each region.
- Transportation of the required machinery and equipment to the demolition site.
- Previous works, such as:
- Removal of existing facilities
- Emptying fuel tanks, application of special treatments
- Evacuation of recoverable and non-recoverable elements and materials
- Placement of work facilities
- Positioning of auxiliary means, such as:
- Shoring and bracings
- Scaffolds / Temporary works
- Scaffolds to hold up the façade
- Cranes
- Collective Protection Equipment
- Demolition works, carried out by the technique (or techniques) chosen:
- Manual demolition: Set of operations organized to demolish a construction, partially or totally, with the majority use of manual means.
- Mechanical demolition: Set of operations organized to partially or totally demolish a construction using machines. It is necessary to maintain partial stability of the construction. This type of demolition can be carried out using various techniques:
- Demolition with explosives: It consists of the controlled detonation of explosive charges, strategically placed in a construction. The loads are positioned so that the construction can be folded down in a predetermined direction.
- Waste evacuation, from the demolished construction to the area of the demolition site defined for waste temporary storage. It can be done by the following methods:
- Manual transport
- By crane
- Opening of holes in slabs, coinciding vertically with the width of a beam and distributed in such a way that they allow their rapid evacuation.
- Freely throwing the rubble on the ground.
- Through channels or conduits
- Mechanized debris removal, in which case the machine will approach the set of waste to be evacuated head-on and remove it to the point of piling up, or load it directly onto the truck.
- Waste sorting, conditioning, temporary storage, and transportation by a waste manager.
- Hazardous waste: a specific area of the demolition site must be set up for their collection. It will be separated from the sanitation network, avoid areas with strong air currents and avoid dragging or transporting hazardous waste by water.
It should be noted that it is very important not to mix different types of hazardous waste, paying special attention to separating those wastes whose combination may be dangerous. In addition, media containing this type of waste must always be properly labelled.
- Non-hazardous waste: It must be taken into account that when the construction and demolition wastes are separated there must be an area destined to place large capacity containers or temporary stockpiles until the waste manager picks them up for their transportation.
- Final works:
- When ground-level zero is reached, the neighbouring buildings must be inspected in order to assess their condition and identify the possible affections they may have suffered.
- Once the demolition is finished and until it is built again, all the shoring and bracings positioned to support the adjoining buildings, as well as the fences and other enclosures, will be preserved.
- The necessary drains will be maintained to prevent the accumulation of rain or snow water, which could harm the neighbouring buildings.
- Necessary repairs will be made in case there is any damage to the elements placed.
- The site resulting from the demolition will be cleaned and emptied of all debris resulting from the demolition carried out.
- The empty and clean lot must be fenced.
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