How is this done? Is it possible without machinery ie a sledgehammer? I might have to tackle a 60's outhouse soon, built with a cast in situ concrete roof and single skin walls. I'm sure I've seen a video somewhere of someone nearly dying whilst tackling one of these, or they caved the roof in and it took the walls with it. . . Any ideas? Or am I best leaving it to the professionals with a digger etc?
demolishing concrete roof
- Thread starter Steve
- Start date
Not a job for DIY in my view, seen it go wrong too many times. Slab suddenly gives way, pushing the walls outward and the lot hits the deck.
One incident I recall was the former Nationwide Building Society premises in my town, the demolition crew were using an excavator with a hammer attachment to break up the roof. Suddenly the remaining roof, (quite a bit of it too), gave way, pushing the front wall outwards. As it fell, it took down the wooden hoarding fronting the site with it. I was the opposite side of the road, and luckily the coast was clear, anyone who'd been on the pavement at that point would have been pretty certain to have been killed!
One incident I recall was the former Nationwide Building Society premises in my town, the demolition crew were using an excavator with a hammer attachment to break up the roof. Suddenly the remaining roof, (quite a bit of it too), gave way, pushing the front wall outwards. As it fell, it took down the wooden hoarding fronting the site with it. I was the opposite side of the road, and luckily the coast was clear, anyone who'd been on the pavement at that point would have been pretty certain to have been killed!
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That's the video I saw before lol. In my case the roof is smaller and thinner than that but as it borders the neighbours I think as you say I'd be best leaving it to the pro's. Though I would like to dig the foundations myself for the new extension to save cost.
Get the pro's to clear the existing structure, once they've cleared the site you can start afresh with the new build. Depending on what foundations are currently in situ, there may be some additional work required to remove those, avoiding drains and other services in the process.
N
Newboy
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