Buildings,  Renovations

Tricky shed demolition part 1

Site assessment.
Site assessment.

Our neighbor, Miss Taylor, was looking for some help to remove a couple of sheds that were built by the previous owner. The builder set their sheds to span the brook that runs next to the house. Now its 50 years later and time for removal.

 

 

Actually, the expiration of this shed was well past due. Many years have past and the floors are collasping and the walls are rotting. While not a complicated demolition, it is labor intensive due to the location of the two sheds. Care must be taken not to allow harmful contaminates to fall into the brook and into the lake that is only 5 feet away. The start…drain the 20 gallons of furnace oil.

Recovery of hazardous materials.
Recovery of hazardous materials.

Now its time to take closer look at the task at hand. The dumpster is just to the right of the camera lens, out of view. We only got started after lunch on the first day. It took 4 hours and what seemed like a hundred trips to remove all the years and years worth of junk that had accumulated in the shed. The homeowner rented a dumpster from Eastern Sanitation Limited (ESL), the size is 7-1/2ft wide, 5ft high, and 20ft long. Their rate is about $191.00 for 10 days, plus whatever the cost will be at the landfill, which is currently $100 per ton. I had it half filled at the end of the day. Something tells me its going to take two loads.

Taylor shed teardown.
Taylor shed teardown.

The roof of the shed is made using very large (and HEAVY) sheets of 3/16 inch galvanized metal. I’m checking to see if the metal has any scrap value. It will lessen the cost to the homeowner for the dumpster fees. The picture below is the roof on the shed that is in the picture above. It appears to be the roof of a railway car side-by-side.

Train car metal roof.
Train car metal roof.

This picture is looking further down the driveway at the shed which is attached to the wooden shed. Its walls are made entirely of this metal from what we can determine, the metal come from Trenton Works, a railway yard in a nearby community. The panels are about 2-1/2ft wide and 5ft long (guessing). All the seams are screwed together, down through the top sill plate of the walls, using 3 inch long lag screws…there are hundreds of them. All of them have been tarred over. I’m thinking about using the air impact gun to take the bolts out. Lots of effort required here!

Train car shed roof.
Train car shed roof.

I did call the local rental shop and booked a cut off saw for the weekend. They have a weekend rate so that should make it a little cheaper for the homeowner’s pocket book. The cut off saw is the type used to cut through concrete but you can use it to cut steel as well. Most importantly, it has a garden hose attachment to remove most of the risk of sparks.

That’s it for the day. Tomorrow is the start of tear down.

A Newfoundland born Canadian with a life long interest in woodworking, baking and anything else that peaks my curiosity.

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