Wednesday, March 9, 2022

Interior Demolition: Epoxy Floor Removal Gives Old Building a New Purpose

R. Baker & Son was contracted to perform interior demolition at a New Jersey pharmaceuticals manufacturing plant. Originally built in 1948, the second floor of the two-story building had served for decades as a 62-room vivarium, and the now-vacant area was to be repurposed as open offices with high ceilings and laboratories with down flow booths.
 
The first demolition task required to prepare for renovation was the removal of all of the old terra cotta block and concrete walls throughout the 25,500 sq. ft. area. Removal of the walls revealed sixty-two individual 12’ x 12’ areas with thick, pitched, troweled-on epoxy floors with drains in the center of the rooms, as well as seven corridors. Removal of the epoxy floors down to the concrete below would require multiple passes by five Blastrac BMS-280 ride-on floor scrapers. Four National 550 floor scrapers were utilized in areas that couldn’t be accessed by the ride-on machines. Other equipment used during the wall and floor demolition included three Bobcats and two pneumatic hammers.
 
Following wall demolition, all drains were plugged and filled with non-shrink concrete. Once the epoxy floors were removed down to the concrete base, R. Baker & Son brought in a BIM scanner system contractor to determine the level of the floors within +/- 1/32” as they needed to be as level as possible, with no high or low points. The BIM contractor identified about a dozen areas that needed to come down in height in order to have a 2-inch total poured concrete floor. Baker crew members prepped and patched several low areas with non-shrink grout to make them level. BIM scans were repeated several times until all high and low points were brought to level. 

The floor was now ready for a new poured resinous surface. Prior to the pour, R. Baker & Son was asked to assist with identifying and filling any open floor areas where conduit and piping had passed through to create a complete seal for the new resinous system. Finally, the entire area was broom swept, cleaned, and vacuumed. The entire floor demolition and preparation project was performed safely to our site-specific safety plan and took approximately three weeks to complete, clearing the way for the next project phase to begin.

About R. Baker & Son All Industrial Services

R. Baker & Son All Industrial Services, a Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE), in business since 1935, is a premier specialized contractor operating in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, with over one hundred employees and an exemplary safety record (we have been directly involved in four sites that received VPP OSHA Safety Awards). R. Baker & Son is financially strong, with bonding capabilities of over $10 million. Capabilities include industrial and commercial demolition, rigging, machinery- and plant-moving, dismantling, decommissioning, plant and equipment relocation, interior demolition, selective demolition, warehousing, wrecking and razing, millwright, plant reconfigurations, heavy rigging, salvage, environmental services, remediation, decontamination, abatement, and investment and asset recovery.

R. Baker & Son - All Industrial Services
190 Boundary Road
Marlboro, NJ 07746
732-222-3553

https://rbaker.com/demolition-contractors-new-jersey.php