Project Scope: Van Ness consisted of 120,000 square feet of a 4-story building. AMPCO was contracted to complete the abatement and structural demolition for the project. The environmental scope included asbestos and lead abatement. Asbestos-containing materials included floor tile, floor mastic, sink undercoating, thermal system pipe insulation, acoustic ceiling tile, wall mastic, window caulking, and subsurface transit pipe. Building demolition included the meticulous demolition of the 4-story structure utilizing a high-reach excavator. All foundations were removed processed and hauled off-site.
Means and Methods: MPCO performed the interior strip out along with the removal of the roofing system. All precast decorative panels attached to the exterior of the building were removed by hand chipping due to the chance that panels could come loose during heavy equipment operations. Building demolition was performed by using a Volvo 480 high reach excavator with a Labounty 250 Processor attachment along with a 90-ton crane. The crane was used for the duration of the project to hold the FOD barrier which was implemented to shield any foreign debris from the public right away. All perimeter foundation walls were left in place and reused by the shoring contractor for the tie-back installation.
Challenges Faced:
• 4-story building walls and the roof overhang canopy were right on the property line, which was the back of the public sidewalk and active metro bus stop.
• The demolition of these walls and roof overhang canopy created a hazard of falling debris to the public pedestrians and vehicular traffic and was maintained by traffic control, FOD barrier, and the sidewalk canopy
• Rush hour pedestrian and vehicular traffic
