R. Baker & Son: Demolition, History and Wrecking Balls

Many of us can recall seeing wrecking balls being used to demolish buildings in old cartoons and black and white films.  But the huge steel spheres that were predominantly used from the 1930s to the 1970s are rarely seen in modern demolition, having largely been replaced by long reach excavators. 

Wrecking balls are made from forged steel and commonly weigh between 1,000 and 12,000 lbs.  No one knows for sure who invented it, though several wrecking companies claim to have done so, but one of the earliest documented uses took place in England in 1888. Unlike their spherical predecessors, modern wrecking balls are pear-shaped with a flat top, which allows them to be pulled back through a roof or slab more easily.

To demolish roofs and slabs, a wrecking ball is suspended from a crane boom by a steel chain and allowed to free-fall onto the structure.  Walls can be demolished by two methods, either by repeatedly pulling the wrecking ball toward the crane cab and allowing it to swing free like a pendulum to strike the structure, or by pivoting the crane boom to accelerate the ball toward its target. 

Though effective, wrecking ball demolition is rather rudimentary and difficult to control, and often caused collateral damage.  Long reach excavators, with their high-tech attachments such as metal cutting shears, concrete processors, and grapples, are much safer and offer far better precision and efficiency.  Nowadays wrecking balls are sometimes used on brick and concrete structures, in quarries, and for breaking up concrete roads and runways.  

About R. Baker & Son All Industrial Services

R. Baker & Son All Industrial Services, a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) 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 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.

Demolition, wrecking and razing, rigging, millwright, plant reconfigurations, heavy rigging, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business / SDVOSB, salvage, dismantling, decommissioning, plant and machinery moving, building demolition, riggers, environmental services, remediation, decontamination, abatement, interior demolition, investment and asset recovery.

R. Baker & Son All Industrial Services
1 Globe Court
Red Bank, NJ 07701
Phone: 732-222-3553
Fax: 732-450-0311
Web: http://www.rbaker.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Demolition.Rigging