Demolition is occasionally a spectacular business, with tall buildings or old chimneys tumbling to the ground amid a huge cloud of dust after being dynamited. But in many cases, the process is much more delicate and needs to be carefully controlled.
The latter will apply to an Edwardian building in Greater Manchester that was badly damaged by Storm Eowyn and now needs to be razed to the ground in a controlled demolition, the Manchester Evening News reports.
Located on Ashley Road in Hale, the two-storey building, which used to be a bar but has been empty for two years, partially collapsed in the storm and has been cordoned off ever since.
Neighbouring buildings on either side have been vacated for safety reasons after cracks appeared in their walls. Careful demolition will be needed to spare these from further damage so that they can subsequently be repaired more easily.
A statement by Trafford Council said: “We are working closely with the property owner while their surveyors conduct an assessment for a controlled demolition as soon as it is safe and feasible.”
Demolition like this will require firms to seek plant machinery for carrying out gradual, fragment-by-fragment, work to bring the building down without further damaging compromised neighbouring structures.
While this case is a prime example of how smaller machinery and carefully controlled demolition work contrasts with the spectacle of blowing big things up, there can be some projects that fall in between the two.
For instance, a former office building in Oldham is set for demolition and replacement with a new 146-home scheme after the project was given the green light by Oldham Council last month.
Located near the town centre, the current three-storey building may be too small to be dynamited, but is not right next to any other buildings, meaning the demolition will not have to be carried out as carefully as that of the storm-damaged building in Hale.