Demolition and Closing the Gap

Oftentimes during selective demolition or interior demolition activities, opening up walls, ceilings, floors, shafts and pits can expose a plethora of structural problems, code issues, and other hidden surprises previously unknown to building owners, architects, engineers, project managers and contractors. This is usually due to the fact that drawings and documentation of a building’s original construction and subsequent renovations are often inaccurate, incomplete, or missing entirely. It is always understood that architectural and engineers’ project plans are never set in stone when it comes to demolition. 

Structural issues and code violations can seriously derail a project, so correcting these issues and bringing things up to current codes must be prioritized to get it back on track. Responsible demolition contractors like R. Baker & Son will generate a Request for Information, or RFI, for architects or structural engineers to address uncovered issues, fill in what is known as the gap and determine what actions should take place with regard to how the project should proceed. Firewalls, joists, columns, fireproofing, and supports may have problems and deficiencies that must be corrected. With everything now exposed, 3D laser scanning and BIM (building information modeling) may be incorporated. This often necessitates changes to project plans with regard to placement of new ductwork, piping, electrical, sprinklers, conduit, cable tray, lighting and ceilings. 

Failing to document structural anomalies, code issues, and other problems to the engineer-of-record and owner in writing, or with photos and/or marked-up drawings when necessary, in a timely manner is almost invariably destined to lead to greater project costs, excessive finger-pointing, and lengthened schedule delays. This underlines the value of using a highly experienced, knowledgeable demolition contractor like R. Baker & Son that readily recognizes such issues and follows required protocols and procedures when they occur. 

About R. Baker & Son All Industrial Services

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

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

www.RBaker.com

 

Rigging and Setting the Final Pieces of Process Equipment

A large, ongoing pharmaceutical project was facing a dilemma. With most work progressing smoothly and on-schedule, equipment for one very important process area would not be arriving onsite until the very end of the project. R. Baker & Son and the construction manager came up with an ingenious plan for rigging the equipment into the facility without interrupting the flow of the project. 

R. Baker & Son had rigged and set in place various mechanical equipment including chillers, cooling towers, air handlers, heat exchangers, tanks, air compressors, and plumbing skids. Some of the process equipment arrived at the jobsite next and was routed through the corridors and into the process suites following a detailed rigging and routing plan developed early in the project. Process equipment included large isolators, tanks, servo lifts, filling lines and several large platforms. 

The process area in question was to include a two-story fluid bed, a granulator, and process air handling unit with control panel. All of the pieces were being fabricated and factory acceptance-tested before they were shipped from overseas. Because of the massive size of the equipment, R. Baker would not be able to bring it through the building, so it was decided that it would be rigged vertically through a exactly-plotted and -measured opening in the roof directly into the process suite onto pre-erected platforms where they would be mounted with precision. 

The final process equipment arrived three weeks from the completion date. All areas had been substantially finished, and finishing touches and punch list items were being completed. With a clear window of weather forecast, the temporary roof above the process suite was removed along with a section of ceiling fifteen feet below. The process air handling unit was rigged in on-end to fit through the opening, then turned to its horizontal position and set on its mechanical platform. Next, two Hoffman enclosure control panels were rigged onto the mechanical platform. The 1-ton, 8-ft. tall granulator came next, followed by the two-story vertical fluid bed weighing three tons, its feet mounted directly onto the awaiting stainless steel platform. 

Once the equipment had been set in place, the ceiling and roof openings were closed and sealed. Final electrical and mechanical interconnects were completed on the process equipment and air balancing was performed. The building was completed on time, and the project received its Certificate of Occupancy as scheduled.

About R. Baker & Son All Industrial Services

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

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

https://rbaker.com

Everyone Loves Demolition Day!

Back in the mid-1940s, the demolition wrecking ball was a unique new demolition tool. A massive heavy steel ball swung by a very skillful operator in a large crane. By carefully moving the crane and boom the operator was able to place the ball in the exact location needed to provide the desired result. When the heavy steel ball hit the building it was a small explosion of mass and velocity sending busted brick, concrete, wood, and steel flying. Wrecking balls swinging and busting always drew a curious crowd of onlookers. It’s something you did not see every day. The wrecking balls popularity inspired many popular toy trucks and games of wrecking balls for kids. 

However, the wrecking balls use in large cities like New York and others came to an end in the early 1960s. There was a new technology to take buildings down that was much more efficient and posed less of a safety hazard. Controlled explosion demolition had replaced the wrecking ball. Buildings were now wired with explosive devices to shear the support columns and through exact timing allow the building to fall into itself in a matter of seconds. What was left was dust and a large debris pile of rubble ready for removal, separation, and recycling. This form of demolition is extremely efficient and popular and often drew crowds in the thousands to watch famous buildings and arenas fall in a matter of seconds, with crowds cheering, clapping and applauding when it was done. 

Controlled demolition is still a very popular spectator draw in most cities. Demolition has even taken to TV (specifically HGTV) where popular shows such as fixer-upper with Chip and Joanna Gaines, property brothers and many other shows on the network celebrate demolition day at the beginning of each project. There is something curiously satisfying about demolition, maybe it’s a celebration of removing the old to make way for the new or it’s a little bit of human nature to take things down in grand fashion? 

Demolition is nothing new to us at R. Baker & Son we’ve been doing it for 85 years now and it’s still fun and exciting to watch.

About R. Baker & Son All Industrial Services

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

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

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

Substantial Cost Savings in Space Repurposing Project

R. Baker & Son was contracted by a long time customer with an order to perform demolition, dismantling and equipment relocation work at an old production facility that was to be repurposed. Production rooms and corridors occupied the ground floor of the two-story building and a mechanical and electrical penthouse were on the second floor.

With safety as our first priority, Phase One of the project required the dismantling and removal of all air handlers, exhaust fans, heat exchangers, pumps, piping and motor control centers. Next, Baker removed concrete housekeeping pads and miscellaneous steel throughout the building. All MEP equipment was removed using two heavy-duty Lull 1044Cs and a JLG 5394RT and moved to rigging and staging areas for further dismantling, separation of materials, and recycling.  The facility’s maintenance department worked closely with the Baker team to identify and salvage existing pumps and parts for reuse in other buildings or for attic stock. 

Phase Two of the project required an 80-ton crane to safely remove roof exhaust fans, condensers, package AHUs, piping and ductwork. The third phase entailed the removal of several large pieces of process equipment and other machinery that was separated and match marked for use at another facility, including two lyophilizers, a large fluid bed, and granulator, several isolators and glove boxes, as well as large in-floor scales and several 5,000-gallon process tanks.  Walls and ceilings were successfully removed while identifying and preserving recently-installed fiber optic inner ducts during demolition and dismantling. Floor demolition was more challenging and time-consuming, requiring removal of thick, sloped epoxy floors with pneumatic hammers and scrapers. Facility restrooms, still in good shape, were left intact as a value engineering cost-savings item. 

Exterior blockwork was thoroughly cleaned, pointed and power washed using several articulating booms. As a cost-saving measure, windows were cleaned and re-caulked for reuse. Where required, floors on both levels were flash-patched. R. Baker & Son had zero safety incidents on the project while adhering to an aggressive schedule and providing $260,000 in cost savings. 

About R. Baker & Son All Industrial Services

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

R. Baker & Son - All Industrial Services
190 Boundary Road
Marlboro, NJ 07746
732-222-3553
http://rbaker.com/demolition-contractors-new-jersey.php

Demolition: A Little Ingenuity Goes a Long Way

Over decades at a Central New Jersey facility, a long MEP utility tunnel was used to carry various plumbing, HVAC, electrical and control lines. When systems began to age and several plumbing lines began to show signs of deterioration and leaking recently, plans were developed to replace the old pipes with new. It was discovered during this planning process that there were many old, abandoned electrical and HVAC piping lines that required removal. The project became a cleanup of the tunnel system aimed not only at replacing what was failing, but a demolition operation to remove what was no longer in use so that future lines could be installed.

The utility tunnel functioned as the backbone of the facility, running below multiple buildings servicing various areas, with the tunnel ceiling and walls supporting a multitude of piping and conduit. Demolition company and rigging services R. Baker & Son was brought in to meet the unique challenge of coming up with a way to safely and efficiently remove demolition waste from the tunnel and bring new materials. Though the tunnel had multiple entrances and exits, it was important that the demolition waste be routed to the end of the tunnel nearest the loading dock for removal. To achieve this, the Baker Team built a custom heavy-duty trolley, six feet long by three feet wide, with rubber wheels and 3-foot high posts to contain pipe and conduit, as well as rubber wheels on the sides to roll along the tunnel’s walls to eliminate friction. It was operated using steel cables, pulleys and an electric winch. A few test runs with 400 lbs. of weight were successful. The trolley proved so successful in the demolition of the tunnel and transport of new materials that the customer purchased it at the end of the project, parking it in the tunnel for future needs.

R. Baker & Son - All Industrial Services 
190 Boundary Road
Marlboro, NJ 07746
http://www.rbaker.com 
732-222-3553

Stone Cycling - Waste Based Bricks

A Dutch company has developed a brick composed of industrial, construction and demolition waste materials. StoneCycling was founded in 2013 by Tom van Soest after learning that construction and demolition debris accounts for 65% of his country’s generated waste. Though much of this debris is recycled as base aggregate for roadways and other applications, van Soest wanted to find a way to increase the potential of demolition waste by turning it into a new building material.

After much experimentation with various combinations of concrete aggregate and other ground and crushed demolition waste materials - ceramic tiles, glass, insulation, etc. - van Soest came up with sturdy, stable WasteBasedBricks in a wide variety of textures and colors. StoneCycling is working to make a circular economy a reality through upcycling, the process of transforming waste materials into new materials of better quality, in contrast to the typical downcycling of demolition waste.

Waste Based Bricks are increasingly being used in the private homes and businesses of clients with a keen interest in environmental sustainability. StoneCycling has announced plans to up-cycle a million kg of waste in 2018 for the exterior of buildings. Though the product has not crossed the Atlantic as of yet, there growing interest here in the United States, where hundreds of millions of tons of construction and demolition waste is generated each year.

R. Baker and Son - All Industrial Services
190 Boundary Road
Marlboro, NJ
http://www.rbaker.com
732-222-3553

Substation & Mechanical Selective Demolition: Out With the Old, In With the New

A new pharmaceutical company took over an existing North Jersey facility with plans for major renovation. Design work began immediately, and long-lead equipment was ordered early on. To meet the aggressive schedule, a parallel selective demolition plan was developed by R. Baker & Son in anticipation of the arrival of the new equipment.

Plans called for a new, larger electrical service requiring removal of an existing substation and installation of a new one. Two existing 600 HP boilers were slated for removal to make way for eight smaller high-efficiency boilers. Four 75-ton chillers, only five years old, were to remain, but aged 100% outside air handlers and associated piping were to be replaced by new recirculating units and required demolition. Because the facility was to be operational for the duration of the project, however, it was necessary for utilities and HVAC systems remain in place until new equipment arrived, at which point R. Baker & Son’s portion of the project would need to move forward swiftly. This required a close team effort between the Baker team, electrical and mechanical contractors, and the owner.

The first, and most critical, swap-out was the removal of a 1500 kVA single-ended substation and installation of a 2500 kVA double-ended substation on a newly-enlarged concrete pad. After weeks of planning and preparation, the electrical shutdown began on a Friday night.  Following all lockout-tagout procedures, the equipment removal proceeded through the weekend. The new substation was rigged in place on Monday morning, and reconnection began immediately, with a one-week timeframe to get the power back on.

Over the next several consecutive Fridays, R. Baker & Son removed the two existing boilers so the eight smaller boilers could be rigged, set, installed in place, and readied for piping. Finally, the air handlers were removed in a set sequence to keep the cooling system running while the new units were installed.  The Baker team performed asset recovery of the boilers and substations for resale allowed the owner to recoup their value and reduce the overall cost of the project.

R. Baker & Son - All Industrial Services
19 Boundary Road
Marlboro, NJ 07746
732-222-3553
http://rbaker.com/selective-demolition.php