WHAT IS DEMOLITION?????

By-Esthar veronica
M.Arch – 1St year

— Demolition means dismantling, razing, destroying or wrecking any building or

structure or any part by pre-planned and controlled methods.
— Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures
 WHY DEMOLITION????
• The structures which have already
passed their design life need to be
reconstructed, for safety and
operational requirements.

• The old structures need to be

demolished for replacement by new
structures.

• Small structures can be demolished by

manual methods but machinery and
advanced techniques are required for
demolition of bigger structures.

• Advanced techniques are also required

for faster demolition and demolition in
confined areas.
 DEMOLITION SEQUENCE
• Demolition sequence shall be determined based on Actual site
conditions, Restraints, The building layout, The Structural layout
and its construction.
In general, the following sequence shall apply:
1)UTILITIES disconnection. Electricity, plumbing water lines, drainage connections
etc..

2)All cantilevered structures, canopies, verandahs and features attached to the

external walls shall first be demolished prior to demolition of main building and its
internal structures on each floor.

3)When demolishing the roof structure, all lift machine rooms and water tanks
at high level shall be demolished in “top down” sequence to the main roof level.
 DEMOLITION SEQUENCE
4)Demolition of the floor slabs shall begin at mid span and work towards the
supporting beams.
DEMOLITION SEQUENCE
5) Floor beams shall be demolished in the order of cantilevered beams,
secondary beams and then main beams.
6) Non-load bearing walls shall be removed prior to demolition of load
bearing walls.

Columns and load bearing walls shall be

demolished after removal of beams on top.
If site conditions permit, the first floor slab directly above the
ground floor may be demolished by machine standing on
ground.
 DEMOLITION METHODS
Demolition methods can vary depending on the following

• The area where it will be held on

• Time available
• The building material
• The purpose of the demolition and
• The way that debris is going to be disposed. Time saving
methods are more expensive than the slower ones. If noise,
dust, and vibrations are to be restricted, it will add to the cost
of demolition.
 DEMOLITION METHODS

• MANUAL METHOD
• DEMOLITION BY MACHINE
• DEMOLITION BY HYDRAULIC CRUSHERS
• DEMOLITION BY WRECKING BALL
• DEMOLITION BY EXPLOSIVES
• ADVANCED TECHNIQUES USING ROBOTIC MACHINES
 DEMOLITION METHODS
Manual methods
The sequence of demolition may vary, depending on
1. site conditions and
2. structural elements to be demolished

• For reinforced concrete buildings, jack hammers are commonly used to break
down the concrete.
• Oxy-acetylene torch could be used to cut the reinforcements.
• The reinforcements shall remain until all the concrete connecting to or
supported by the reinforcement is broken away or when its support is no
longer required.
• In congested areas, these features could have critical impact on the safety
of the public
 DEMOLITION BY MACHINES
• The sequence of demolition by machine is typically the same as the top
down manual method, except that most of the demolition is done by
mechanical plant.
• The demolition begins with the lifting of the mechanical plant on to the
building top floor.
• When rope or tie wire is used for pulling, the workers shall be protected or
stay away.
• Adequate propping shall be installed at floor levels below the working floor
to safely support the operation of the mechanical plant.
• The movement of the mechanical plant shall only be within the propped
area. The propped areas shall be suitably marked.
• The movement of the mechanical plant shall be prohibited within 2 m of the
building edge, within 1 m of any floor openings or any cantilevered
structures.
 DEMOLITION BY MACHINES
• The mechanical plant shall be lifted onto the roof of the building by
the use of mobile crane or other appropriate means as approved.
• The machine shall descend down to the next floor by means of a
ramp. The ramp may be a temporary structure or other appropriate
design.
• The slope of the ramp shall be no steeper that 1.75 to 1 or as
recommended by the machine manufacturer.
 DEMOLITION BY HYDRAULIC CRUSHERS
• The crusher attachment breaks the concrete and the
reinforcement by the hydraulic thrust through the long boom
arm system.
• The hydraulic crusher can be operated from the ground
outside the building. This method is also suitable for
dangerous buildings, silos and other industrial facilities.
• The operation shall have a minimum clear space of ½ the
building height as a safety zone for the falling debris.
• The excavator shall operate on firm ground that can support
the machine during the crusher operation.
• Each section of the structure shall be demolished in a top
down sequence
• Hydraulic shears
• Pulverizers
• Grapple
DEMOLITION BY WRECKING BALL
• The wrecking ball application consists of a crane equipped with a
steel ball.
• The destruction of the building is by the impact energy of the steel
ball suspended from the crawler crane. The wrecking ball operates
outside the building.
• This method is suitable for dilapidated buildings, silos and other
industrial facilities.
• However, the operation requires substantial clear space. The
application also demands high level skill operators and well
maintained equipment.
 DEMOLITION BY WRECKING BALL
• The balling of each section of the structure shall proceed from top
to bottom.
• Recommended techniques for the wrecking ball operations include
(1) Vertical Drop -free falling of the wrecking ball onto the structure
and
(2) Swing in line - swinging of the ball in-line with the jib.
• A second dragline will normally connect to the ball horizontally to
control the ball motion.
• The jib or boom shall be operated with no less than 3 m above the
portion of the structure being demolished.
DEMOLITION BY WRECKING BALL
• Clear space for operation between the crane and the structure
being demolished shall be ½ of the height of structure, with
additional distance between crane and boundary wall for
maneuverability.
• High strength wire shall be used to allow pull out of the wrecking
ball from potential traps.
• To minimize the dust impact on the surrounding area, the structure
to be demolished shall be pre- soaked with water before
demolition. Water spraying shall continue on the structure during
demolition.
• The operation shall not be performed adjacent to overhead power
lines. The site shall be entirely fenced off to forbid public access.
DEMOLITION BY EXPLOSIVES
 DEMOLITION BY EXPLOSIVES
IMPLOSION
• Implosion is the strategic placing of explosive material and timing
of its detonation so that a structure collapses on itself in a matter
of seconds, minimizing the physical damage to its immediate
surroundings.
• The technique weakens or removes critical supports so that the
building can no longer withstand the force of gravity and falls
under its own force.
• The explosives are just the trigger for the demolition. It's gravity
that brings the building down.
 DEMOLITION BY EXPLOSIVES
• Explosives are loaded and progressively detonated on several different
levels of the building so that the building structure falls down on itself at
multiple points.
• When everything is planned and executed correctly, the total damage of
the explosives and falling building material is sufficient to collapse the
structure entirely, so clean up crews are left with only a pile of rubble.
• In order to demolish a building safely, each element of the implosion
must be studied ahead of time. This is done by a blasting expert.
• The first step is to examine architectural blueprints of the building to
determine how the building is put together.
• Next, the building is surveyed to study about the support structure on
each floor.
• Based on this data and drawing from past experiences with similar
buildings, the expert decides what explosives to use, where to position
them in the building and how to time.
 DEMOLITION BY EXPLOSIVES
• The main challenge in bringing a building down is controlling
which way it falls. Ideally, a blasting crew will be able to tumble
the building over on one side, into a parking lot or other open
area. This sort of blast is the easiest to execute, and it is generally
the safest way to go.
• Tipping a building over is something like felling a tree.
• To topple the building to the north, the blasters detonate
explosives on the north side of the building first, in the same way
a tree would be chopped into from the north side if it is to fall in
that direction. Blasters may also secure steel cables to support
columns in the building, so that they are pulled a certain way as
they crumble.
 DEMOLITION BY EXPLOSIVES
• Sometimes, a building is surrounded by structures that must be
preserved. In this case, the blasters proceed with a true implosion,
demolishing the building so that it collapses straight down into its own
footprint (the total area at the base of the building).
• The basic idea in implosion is to think of the building as a collection of
separate towers.
• The blasters set the explosives so that each "tower" falls toward the
centre of the building.
• When they are detonated in the right order, the toppling towers crash
against each other and all of the rubble collects at the centre of the
building.
• Another option is to detonate the columns at the centre of the building
before the other columns so that the building's sides fall inward.
 DEMOLITION BY EXPLOSIVES
• Generally speaking, blasters will explode the major support
columns on the lower floors first and then a few upper stories.
• In a 20-story building, for example, the blasters might blow the
columns on the first and second floor, as well as the 12th and 15th
floors.
• In most cases, blowing the support structures on the lower floors
is sufficient for collapsing the building, but loading columns on
upper floors helps break the building material into smaller pieces
as it falls. This makes for easier cleanup following the blast.
DEMOLITION BY EXPLOSIVES
columns are fully loaded with explosives
DEMOLITION BY EXPLOSIVES
 ADVANCED TECHNIQUES USING ROBOTIC
MACHINES
• There is a different, specialized approach to every demolition
project.
• Identifying the project’s unique requirements and selecting the
right machine to ensure the work is done is a safe and efficient
manner.
• Robotic machines meet these unique challenges.
• We have large high reach equipment that has the capability to
reach some very high and awkward areas.
• Smaller Robotic demolisher machines to get into those tight spots
and if a project has some tricky or confined spaces we have robotic
equipment on hand to get the
 ADVANCED TECHNIQUES USING ROBOTIC
MACHINES

THANK YOU…