Whole structures, and parts of them.
Building demolition in the Bronx: taking a whole structure down, or taking down an agreed part of one and leaving the rest standing and sound.
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How a building comes down
Building demolition is a question of order. A building is a system of load paths, and it comes apart predictably when those paths are released in the right sequence. Release them in the wrong order and the structure picks the sequence itself, usually at the worst possible moment. Knowing which is which is the job.
We work out the sequence before anything comes down, and we clear the site as we go.
What this covers
- Full building demolition, down to grade
- Houses and small residential buildings, detached, semi-attached or in a row
- Partial demolition, where a defined part comes off and the rest stays in use
- Detached garages, sheds and outbuildings
- Rear extensions and later additions coming off an older building
- Clearing the material and leaving the ground workable
If the structure is staying and only the inside is coming out, you want interior demolition instead.
Partial against full
These are two different jobs, and which one you have changes the sequence, the site work and the price.
A full teardown is in some ways the simpler problem. Nothing has to survive. The constraints are the neighbours, the boundary, the services and the site.
A partial demolition is the harder one, because something has to still be standing and sound when we leave.
- What was the removed part carrying? A rear extension may be holding up more than it looks
- Shoring. What supports the remainder while the connection is released, and how long it stays
- The party wall. On attached and semi-attached lots the neighbour is the constraint that shapes the whole job. Shared walls and shared footings do not care where the property line is
- The weather line. Whatever is exposed by the removal has to be closed up. A wall that spent eighty years as an interior wall is now an exterior one
- Where the cut lands. The obvious line and the right line are frequently not the same
Taking down a house
A house coming down is rarely just the house. There is usually a garage or a shed behind it, a driveway or a path, front steps, fencing, and a slab or two nobody thinks about until the structure is gone.
Decide early what goes with it. Clearing the whole lot in one go is one set-up, one sequence and one clear-up. Coming back for the driveway a month later is a second mobilisation, and it is the more expensive way to reach the same result. Tell us what you want the lot to look like at the end and we will scope it that way. The driveway, the walkways and the steps are concrete removal, and they run alongside the teardown rather than after it.
Before anyone starts
These are site conditions and things that have to be settled. Some are yours, some are ours, and we go through all of them before a date goes in the diary.
Utilities off and confirmed
Every service into the structure disconnected at the right point and confirmed dead. Not switched off, disconnected. This is the single most common thing that delays a start.
Approvals in place
Structural demolition in New York City needs filings and approvals in place before work starts. Tell us where yours stand when you call and we will plan the schedule around them.
Access and the neighbours
Where equipment gets in, where material goes out, what is overhead, and who is attached to the structure.
What stays
Boundary walls, fences, trees, paving, a slab you want to keep. Agreed in advance and marked, because it cannot be un-demolished.
Holding up what stays
On an attached or semi-attached lot, the shoring is the job. We work out what carries the load once the connection is released, put the support in before anything is cut, and leave it there until the remaining structure is closed up and stable.
What leaves the site
Structural work produces a lot of material in a short time. We run loading and removal alongside the demolition rather than leaving it to the end, which keeps the site workable and the sequence safe.
We clear what our own work produces on that site, and leave the ground in a workable state for whatever comes next.
What changes the scope
- Structure type. Frame, masonry, or a mix, and what has been added over the years
- Attachment. Detached, semi-attached or fully attached is the biggest single factor, and it is the first thing we look at
- Access for equipment. What can physically reach the structure, and from where
- What is below grade. Slabs, footings and foundations, and how far down you want to go. Slab or footing removal on its own is concrete removal
- Site constraints. Overhead lines, the pavement, the boundary and how close the neighbours are
These are the things that move a price, which is why we quote structural work after seeing the site rather than over the phone.
Questions
Can you take down part of a building and leave the rest?
Yes. It is the more demanding of the two jobs, and it comes down to what the removed section was carrying and how we support the remainder while the connection is released. We work that out before we start, not on the day.
Do you handle the approvals and filings?
No. Structural demolition in New York City needs the filings in place before work starts, so tell us where yours stand when you call and we will plan the schedule around them.
What about the foundation and the slab?
Say whether you want them out. Taking a structure to grade and taking it out below grade are different scopes with different numbers.
What is left when you finish?
A cleared, level, workable site with the material gone. Anything agreed to stay is still standing.
We share a wall with next door. Is that a problem?
It is a constraint, not a blocker. It shapes the sequence and the shoring, so it is one of the first things we look at.
Describe the structure.
What it is, what is attached to it, and what you want left when it is gone.
Call (929) 205-0893