Demolishing a commercial structure, even a relatively small building, is a complex and potentially dangerous process. While demolition might seem chaotic, expert crews must work carefully and efficiently to perform this job without creating risks for workers or the general public. Environmental and regulatory concerns are also major considerations in any demolition project.
If you need to tear down a commercial building, working with a professional team is essential to handle this surprisingly difficult project. Surprisingly, much of the work occurs during the early preparation stages. While every demolition project will be different, you can generally expect any large demolition job to involve these three critical preparation steps.
1. Site Survey and Hazard Inspection
Your demolition team will need to thoroughly inspect the building you're removing before they can begin the project's main planning and preparation stage. This survey will include numerous steps, but a hazard inspection is one of the most critical parts. Commercial buildings can often contain hazardous materials, including flammable or toxic chemicals. Asbestos is also a major concern in older structures.
These hazards can create dangerous working conditions for demolition crews and are major environmental hazards. No demolition project can begin without fully understanding any site hazards and making planning to safely contain, remove, and transport any hazardous materials on site. Regulations may require your demolition team to submit detailed remediation plans to local, state, or federal agencies.
2. Traffic Evaluation and Planning
Professional demolition companies do everything possible to keep their work contained and safe, but there's no getting around the fact that demolition can be messy and dangerous. Depending on the size and condition of the structure, parts of the demolition process may result in dust or debris affecting nearby streets. Heavy equipment may also need to use these roads.
Traffic control is often a necessary part of the job for larger projects. Managing traffic on nearby streets may require working with local officials, obtaining permits, planning road closures, or installing traffic control devices. Planning for these tasks early in the project is crucial to ensure the safety of motorists or pedestrians in the area.
3. Debris Clean-Up Planning
Demolishing even a small structure will leave behind a large amount of material. While hazardous waste often takes center stage, normal construction debris is also a major concern. Hauling away this debris can be a major part of the project and will often require significant time and resources to move everything off-site.
If you need to leave your site as clean as possible, your demolition team will work with you to develop a plan for managing, storing, and transporting demolition waste. This plan will ensure that your site is ready for additional work once your demolition crew completes the job.
Contact a local commercial demolition service to learn more.
Why do we have structures built? In some cases, it's because we need them. We do, after all, need buildings like homes and banks. Sometimes, though, we have things constructed simply for our enjoyment. This is true of parks, and it also tends to be true of landscaping. Construction workers build things so we can enjoy them — that's a concise way of putting it!
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