Firstly, just to say that I really appreciate all the help and input I get from the participants on these forums - a knowledgeable and friendly crowd if ever there was one.
I have an air raid shelter built at the side of my house. It is solid but in a poor state, and needs to come down because we want to use the space.
I've been given a couple of estimates (£2,000 to £3,000) to bring this down and remove it from site. This is a big chunk of cash, so I am considering doing the job myself.
- What would be the best plan of attack?
- can I do this safely on my own?
- how long would it take, assuming I get more knackered each day?
- What should I watch out for?
Dimensions & construction:
4.5m long, 2m wide, and 2m tall. The roof is 8inch concrete, the walls are brick (1 brick thick on the length of the house, 2 thick on the other length, 2 thick on the width with door openings at both ends, one with a cracked concrete lintel). The floor is gently sloping concrete (depth unknown).
Location:
one side of its length has a gap of about 2 inches to the flank wall of our neighbours house. A 2-foot length of this gap is filled at one point with cement or similar so the Shelter and their house are connected. One short end opens to our back garden, and the other end abutts the back of our garage.
Contents:
boiler (asbestos cement flue), washing machine, bike. The main gas supply runs from the meter in the garage then back along the full length of the floor of the Shelter to the boiler. There is a drain manhole cover at the end nearest the garage. A rainwater pipe and the soil pipe are bricked into the supporting wall nearest the house. I am not sure how the shelter is joined (built) to the main house.
In an ideal world, I would like to continue to use the boiler after the structure has been removed - demolish around it (?) then put up a temporary structure. I would get a contractor to remove the asbestos flue, and our plumber to fit a new flue.
Any advice much appreciated.
I have an air raid shelter built at the side of my house. It is solid but in a poor state, and needs to come down because we want to use the space.
I've been given a couple of estimates (£2,000 to £3,000) to bring this down and remove it from site. This is a big chunk of cash, so I am considering doing the job myself.
- What would be the best plan of attack?
- can I do this safely on my own?
- how long would it take, assuming I get more knackered each day?
- What should I watch out for?
Dimensions & construction:
4.5m long, 2m wide, and 2m tall. The roof is 8inch concrete, the walls are brick (1 brick thick on the length of the house, 2 thick on the other length, 2 thick on the width with door openings at both ends, one with a cracked concrete lintel). The floor is gently sloping concrete (depth unknown).
Location:
one side of its length has a gap of about 2 inches to the flank wall of our neighbours house. A 2-foot length of this gap is filled at one point with cement or similar so the Shelter and their house are connected. One short end opens to our back garden, and the other end abutts the back of our garage.
Contents:
boiler (asbestos cement flue), washing machine, bike. The main gas supply runs from the meter in the garage then back along the full length of the floor of the Shelter to the boiler. There is a drain manhole cover at the end nearest the garage. A rainwater pipe and the soil pipe are bricked into the supporting wall nearest the house. I am not sure how the shelter is joined (built) to the main house.
In an ideal world, I would like to continue to use the boiler after the structure has been removed - demolish around it (?) then put up a temporary structure. I would get a contractor to remove the asbestos flue, and our plumber to fit a new flue.
Any advice much appreciated.