If you’ve ever seen an old building that was scheduled for demolition, you may wonder why they don’t just deconstruct it and then rebuild off that, or why a renovation isn’t done instead. There are many different methods of demolition where they do deconstruct the building piece by piece, but it ultimately ends with the demolishing of the structure. Understanding why demolition is done on buildings overall is important to understand why the profession is respected and such a large industry today.
Safety and Health Hazards
There are many old buildings still standing around today from good workmanship and proper construction, but everything eventually falls and if regular maintenance isn’t done on these buildings, then they start to wither. If a building needs to be demolished a safety inspection must be done beforehand. Deconstruction may be suggested, and it could be a possibility, but it all depends on the safety inspection. Numerous safety hazards can be present that make deconstruction invalid as an option.
An example is asbestos. Asbestos was a widely used material during the 1900’s construction up until the ’70s. It’s extremely heat resistant and a great electrical insulator, which leads to its use in many different construction materials such as drywall, roofing, and caulking, which can all be found in buildings even today. Asbestos seems like great material for use, and it was until its health risks became apparent. Asbestos is a fibrous silicate mineral, which means if a demolition/deconstruction was done and any materials that contain asbestos were sanded down, removed, broken apart, and generally disturbed then there’s a chance it can be released into the air. Asbestos’s health risks primarily come from inhaling, and any of these actions done in a deconstruction job can lead to the inhalation of asbestos. Avoiding a risk like this is why a demolition service would be employed to do the job. Demolition services from professional companies know how to properly work around and within an environment that contains asbestos and know how to keep the health risks contained to protect themselves, surrounding structures, and any surrounding public.
Structural Issues and Faulty Foundation
A demolition job on a structure that contains any structural issues and/or faulty foundation means that deconstruction is not an option. An environment that isn’t structurally sound isn’t going to be deemed safe for any workers to be within, and if a building is deemed to have severe structural issues/fault foundation then it’s more than likely that anything within the building is well past reuse. Regular maintenance would have prevented this, but a building that is this far gone should be fully demolished to make way for a brand-new structure on the property. Safety is the number one priority for any demolition company, and issues like this would be that deconstruction as an option is out of the door immediately.
A Complete Removal Is Desired
Demolition services being employed means going by what the client wants, and if they’re looking to do an entire demolition to clear their property of any structures then that’s what the demolition company will do. Ultimately, the client’s needs are met by a professional demolition company if the needs are within laws, and don’t put anyone’s safety and/or health in jeopardy. The client may want to use the land that the structure is on for other reasons, or for possibly a brand-new structure. If they want a complete demolition so they can commence their new project, then a complete demolition will be done on the building.
These 3 reasons are just quick reasoning to explain why demolition is done on buildings. Each of these points goes deeper with the reasoning than expressed, but they’re the base for why they’re done. Safety and health hazards require a full demolition of a building, any safety issues from the structure to the foundation make it irreparable, and ultimately, it’s the client’s decision on what is done to their structure. If you require any demolition services in Ontario, give RKS Services Group a call for a free quote on your next project. A professional demolition company with many other services including landscaping and concrete removal, we offer their services all across Ontario, give us a quick chat to discuss your next project.
