How to avoid earth shattering costs in your demolition project
Whether you’re knocking down one wall to renovate an old property or are planning a full scale demolition project to make way for an entirely new structure, one thing’s for sure – what goes up must come back down again.
As children, we can all relate to the excitement of watching a demolition take place. Our fascination with seeing a building crumble to Earth was exhilarating! All that smoke and rubble lingering in the air like the aftermath of a fireworks display filled us with awe and excitement.
Skip forward a few decades and it’s only when we are involved in a full scale demolition project that we realise – things aren’t so exciting… Especially when you consider the costs involved! So, after months of planning and site surveys, the last thing you want to contend with when demolition day arrives is further spiralling costs.
Having a clear strategy in place to remove soil, aggregates and rubble off site as quickly and efficiently as possible will help you avoid earth shattering costs when embarking on your demolition project. So let’s review how you can mitigate downtime and financial strains after the dust has settled.
“If I could turn back time…”
As a Project Manager, planning and time management is pivotal to keeping the site running smoothly and efficiently. As with any demolition project, that means removing waste materials off site as quickly as possible to make way for the construction work to take place.
For large scale projects, hiring a vehicle to transport the materials off site is a deeply inefficient use of both machinery and time. Every-time it unloads composites into the back of a skip it has to travel back empty to collect another load. Therefore, it’s only efficient half of its working time.
For small-scale projects undergoing a home remodelling, renovation or extension, it might be tempting to use a spade and wheelbarrow to shift all the dirt. However, that too will not suffice as a solution to avoiding downtime and keeping costs low in your demolition project.
So what’s the solution…?
Hiring a conveyor belt of course! A conveyor belt will keep your site moving, from the moment your power it on in the morning – to the second you switch it off at the end of the day. No down-time required, no gradient too tough to tackle and best of all, no sky-rocketing costs for your project!
“Ain’t no mountain high enough,
ain’t no valley low enough…”
Once gravity has run its course, the landscape of your construction site suddenly becomes vastly different. A building that has crashed down to Earth presents a scattering of materials, which can result in tough gradients and steep inclines.
These awkward areas can be difficult to reach with receptacles and larger machinery that can’t run on uneven ground. As a result, you may be constrained to manually transporting waste materials to the nearest place a vehicle can reach. This causes downtime to your demolition project and requires additional labour.
Hiring a conveyor belt removes this burden. Thanks to its ultra-light weight aluminium structure, the Shifta Conveyor Belt is extremely portable, which means it can be set up in the most convenient area on-site. What’s more, Shifta Conveyor Belts can be linked to one another to create a continuous flow to the length that you require and can be adjusted as the excavation progresses.
In really confined spaces, the conveyor belt can load materials from gradients of up to 45-50 degrees. Where other machines would struggle with the differing levels of land, the Shifta Conveyor Belt can tackle tough terrains with no problems at all, saving you time, hassle and most importantly, money in your demolition project.
Once the excavation is complete and you’re ready to off hire the belts, they can be easily stacked on site leaving you room to carry on other works and ready for pick-up for next-day collection service.
“Don’t stop me now, I’m having such a good time, I’m having a ball…”
“What if my machine breaks down? Then I’m faced with additional costs of fixing the machine!” Fear not my friend! One of the benefits of hiring a conveyor belt from a specialist provider, other than avoiding the sky-high prices associated with buying machinery outright, is the luxury of around the clock maintenance support.
Should you experience a fault with your machine, the provider will typically respond within a couple of hours after being notified of the fault, therefore limiting site downtime and liability costs associated with buying machinery. In addition to this, you can rest assured that the machine will have been subject to regular, scheduled service programme conducted by qualified engineers.
To avoid faults caused by improper usage, it is critical to be mindful of the materials you are loading onto the conveyor. This is especially important in the case of a demolition project, whereby lumps of concrete rubble that have cut pieces of reinforced steel protruding out the side are likely to surface.
A good rule of thumb is to apply the same logic as you would when driving your car. If you wouldn’t drive over it, don’t load it onto the conveyor. A sharp object can cause the belt to puncture and could end up causing unexpected delays to your project. Follow this one simple rule and you can be sure to keep your excavation moving quickly and keep costs low!
