Hi guys I'm new to this forum. It seems like there are a lot of experienced knowledgeable owners and operators here. I have and existing gravel business but I would like to expand to demolition work. I currently have a cat 312 with a thumb and a Volvo L90 loader. I also own 3 more loaders that I feel are too big to be of any use for demolition work. I also own an old dresser td15 dozer. I have 2 open gravel pits totaling around 500000 yards of remaining material. I would like your opinions on what equipment that you think I would need to get started with some residential and smaller commercial demolition. Thank you for your help.
In my humble opinion, track loaders don't suffer tire damage from rebar the way wheel loaders do... Howard
Welcome to the Forums awalker!:drinkup You already have a nice sized machine for residential demo, your 312. I have taken down many houses with a 315, sometimes on a 2 story house I had to build a ramp of debris to reach the upper levels but with a little time and patience it comes down. Personally I don't see a reason for a wheel loader on a residential site unless there is a fair amount of earthmoving to go along with it. Typical tear downs can be cleaned up with an excavator although a skid steer or CTL is very handy for the final cleanup and grading. How do you plan on hauling the debris? The most expensive part of demo is getting rid of the waste.
I would most likely use cans or a local trucking company that I have a good working relationship with.
Do you have any experience in demolition? I'm not asking that snarky, just a question. Trying to get an idea of your experience level, everyone starts at zero. There are threads here on HEF about demo. A couple that come to mind - Landclearer has some very nice shots of residential demo in his thread. HeavyEquipmentForums Ddigger also has some very nice shots of both residential and commercial demo in his thread. HeavyEquipmentForums Both of these guys know what they're doing and I would consider them experts in the field.
Thank you very much for this info. I do not have much experience at all with demo. A few operators that work for me have done a few demo jobs over the years and aside from a few small sheds and garages on property that I own I really don't have much at all. I have a lot of experience operating, crushing and grading though which I hope will help me.
I got involved in heavy demolition while working superfund sites...had CDI implode some of the taller buildings, then cut the steel with heavy shears and a tremendous amount of reinforced concrete construction, often with walls 2' or more thick. Some of the major decisions were how much machine time do we spend separating rebar from concrete rubble, track loader maintenance vs tire damage from rebar to wheel loaders, use of roll-offs vs end dump trucks and when to change shear blades or bring in heavier equipment... And worse decisions, how do you verify the CDI charge placements (we had them fail on one seven story building and had to reshoot)? My viewpoint was as a senior safety engineer on the project so I was high on the food chain. And we had 13 different unions on site and our own labor council! Best of luck Howard