Need help from demo guys

[brynbaily]

Our company got a call to do a demo job on a small old 1850's cabin/house. Its prob 30x40 no basement, two story. The guts are large oak timbers but are in pretty bad shape. Looks easy but we don't do these jobs. We usually build things not destroy :D My pops is out of town and usually does these things for us but the ball has landed in my court and I really don't want to eat this. I would pass on it but due to times being tough we can use the work. Any help with...
- what should I look for
- things to avoid
- ball park figures for something that size
I'm thinking a few trucks, medium size excavator and skid steer should be enough machinery. I know this is a huge shot in the dark and I should have taken a pic of it and that would have been a help :Pointhead
Any .02 is better then none...:beatsme

[joispoi]

As far as number of truck loads, you´re on your own for figuring volume. I would only figure a couple hours on the skid steer since in all likelyhood you can do the whole job with just the excavator and use the skid steer for final cleanup.

:beatsme

[D5G]

Bryn, Those timbers might suprise you! They might not be as rotten as you think, I would make sure you have a chain saw or 2 with you, with SHARP blades. I see a lot of guys around N.E. Ohio use a 320/325 size machine. What seems to be VERY important and I have learned from the demo section of HEF is that it is imperative to get the building down and track over it as much as possible to break it down. I would price out the dump fees, maybe someone like Mulch Makers would take some of the wood scrap, I don't know though. I would look for places to recycle stuff in stead of dumping it, seems to be quite a bit cheaper. If you have the time, go in and rip out all the scrap possible, it will make sorting a lot faster. You may not even need a skid steer, as joispoi said. If it doesn't have a basement, there wouldn't be any grading required. You might consider getting cans or a walking floor trailer, might be cheaper than you think in these times. Good luck, let us know how it turns out...and don't forget the pics!

[brynbaily]

I have a friend who builds timber frame houses who is interested in the logs. So it would be nice if I could sell them and just load the logs on their trucks :D Dump fees are ridiculous, like $40 a ton:dizzy so if its ok with the owner we'll burn the newer shell since its out in BFE and truck the shingles out.

[D5G]

If you mean that literally, just be careful...the EPA has gone absolutley beserk as of recent. You need a permit just to have a bonfire in medina county. If you burn it any time soon you should be fine, since its been SOOO wet. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[bill5362]

Here in Indiana you need a permit for the demo, and there are big fines for burning, EPA doesn't like the whole house fires. We do quite a bit of demo so assuming that the house is a true 2 story with a gable roof and there isn't too much junk inside of the house I would bid this at approximately 380 CY. I would use 40 CY roll offs and figure on 10 containers (45.00 per ton here) and the weight of 9 ton average per box. Make sure and not load any masonry or dirt in the cans.

We would use a 44,000 lb excavator and a track skid steer to do this by what you have described Depending on how quickly you can get roll offs and how much room you have at the site, I would allow for 3 days for the job hope this helps.

[iron kid]

u should get 5 to 7 can and have it done with just a track hoe in no more than 2 days with a thumb
Cans work the best u can compact it in better
9750 ball park with the well

[ChaplinandSons]

Hey boss first thing you need to do Is get an Asbestos survey done that is FEDERAL and STATE law throughout the united states. Then you need to call the utility companies and get all the utilities cut and/or capped and then get a utility locate company to spray it up b/c most states have a UPC to safegaurd its utilities. Tearing it down is the easy part just make sure your paper work is good especially on the Asbestos Survey b/c if the house is hot they will make an example out of you.

[ChaplinandSons]

On a house that is 150 yrs old plus if there is brick salvage them 500 per pallet sells for $300-500 per pallet. Timber market is down right now, but none the less you can sell old timber for at least a $1.00 per board foot and save yourself the landfill costs. Salvage all metals the metal market for shreddable is going up. Seperate all the inert from C&D typically its cheaper to dump inert then C&D. On a 1200 Sq/Ft cabin your probably looking at 4-6 40 yard boxes of C&D and if it has a concrete or brick foundation you probably have 2-3 20 yard boxes of inert. A midsize excavator should be all you need.

[ChaplinandSons]

www.ChaplinandSons.com

[ChaplinandSons]

Demolition on residential I know in Augusta,GA is going from $2.25 - $3.50 per sq/ft w/o Asbestos with Asbestos Abatement depending on the quantites you can add $.75 to $1.50 per sq/ft of abatement.

[brynbaily]

u should get 5 to 7 can and have it done with just a track hoe in no more than 2 days with a thumb
Cans work the best u can compact it in better
9750 ball park with the well

5 to 7 what? Thousand I'd hope? I plan on using our Deere 120 with a thumb. It hasn't been occupied for ever, so there are no utilities other then electric still run to it. I'm trying to work a deal with the timbers as we speak. There is no insulation at all. The owners pretty much took care of everything as far as gutting the inside. They basically left the structure and want it removed. Thanks for the reply's guys. I'll get some pics when I get back to the site.

[Wolf]

Did you knock it down yet? If it is really from the 1850s, the timbers should be worth something, and maybe you can sell the whole cabin as an antique relic rather than just destroy it. It might be worth more to a collector or somebody who is into antiques and stuff than you would make by wrecking it.

Check it out.

Let's see some pictures of the cabin.

I know some places that you might be able to sell it intact, places where they sell historic houses that get moved away by collectors. Sounds like kind of an interesting place you got there.

[brynbaily]

Did you knock it down yet? If it is really from the 1850s, the timbers should be worth something, and maybe you can sell the whole cabin as an antique relic rather than just destroy it. It might be worth more to a collector or somebody who is into antiques and stuff than you would make by wrecking it.

Check it out.

Let's see some pictures of the cabin.

I know some places that you might be able to sell it intact, places where they sell historic houses that get moved away by collectors. Sounds like kind of an interesting place you got there.

Nope, on hold for that very reason :Banghead We've got a few different companies interested, now its hurry up and wait for them :Pointhead I haven't even been out there since. I've been so busy, workin almost 12 a day.....when it rains it poors I guess :beatsme

[D5G]

Ha, look how long it took to move the howe house. Hope you guys get to do somethin soon.

[Wolf]

Ha, look how long it took to move the howe house. Hope you guys get to do somethin soon.

Okay, I give up. What is the Howe house, and how long did it take to move that.

There must be a story here. Do tell.

Do you think they are gonna end up wrecking this 1850s cabin or selling it intact to some hysterical preservation leaf licker types?


:rolleyes:

[D5G]

The Howe House is a old piece of crap house from 1836 the leaf lickers got the city of akron to move and restore, at a price tag of 3 million.:eek: Like ANY city has 3 mil to throw away moving a junk house, what a joke. At least it was fun to watch, and it has created a very SMALL few jobs. I was over there today looking at what they were doing...its interesting, but very overpriced entertainment.

[eianewb]

do any of you guys have experience in demoing barns? i just bought a excavator for our own farm use, but the neighbors all see it sitting there. one guys has a yard w/ 2 barns to come down. how do you guys figure time one something like this? we will have to get it on the ground, then burn and bury it. any suggestions/comments?? time&fuel vs bid??

TIA

[special tool]

do any of you guys have experience in demoing barns? i just bought a excavator for our own farm use, but the neighbors all see it sitting there. one guys has a yard w/ 2 barns to come down. how do you guys figure time one something like this? we will have to get it on the ground, then burn and bury it. any suggestions/comments?? time&fuel vs bid??

TIA

What is your machine?

[eianewb]

kobelco 130

[special tool]

Eh - maybe around $100-$125/hour for your neighbor.
Less if you like him, more if he helps.;)

[Willis Bushogin]

5 to 7 what? Thousand I'd hope? I plan on using our Deere 120 with a thumb. It hasn't been occupied for ever, so there are no utilities other then electric still run to it. I'm trying to work a deal with the timbers as we speak. There is no insulation at all. The owners pretty much took care of everything as far as gutting the inside. They basically left the structure and want it removed. Thanks for the reply's guys. I'll get some pics when I get back to the site.

As stated, make sure all your permits are in hand, even if its a 100 years old, in our area, we still need a demo permit, stating no asbestos. Its usually done by the local state permit office.
What I have done several times, to save money, is to get the local fire dept, to burn it down, as a training exercise. They seem to get permits, to burn when no one else can.
Do your math, lots of good info here, my first demo job, I lost $1800, those concrete slabs and footers are heavy.
Look around, lots of people that has holes,ponds, etc they want filled. Check with farmers they always have a place to dump. This isnt legal to dump house debris, but its OK to dump concrete/brick if it doenst have contaminated paint on it
On a normal size house, we get around $6000, we used to get $8-9000, but the economy is crap now.
We dont take, no more stuff to the landfill than we have to, it does take time to separate stuff, but its worth it. Burning is best, with a permit. I usually donate $500-$1000 to the fire dept and they are glad to do it. If its in the city, they should do it free.


Good Luck

[D5G]

Anything yet Bryn?

[universalwreck]

always check for asbestos - make sure owner has a survey completed

[Wolf]

Got any pictures of these cool demo jobs you are writing about? Put em up. Love to see the pictures. What is the status of these jobs?