In collaboration with our sister company Helfaut Travaux, we recently successfully completed a challenging demolition of an apartment building in Lille. The complexity of this project was not so much the great height of the building, but the proximity of a busy street that had to remain open to traffic during the work.
Safety first
To ensure the safety of passing traffic and prevent debris from falling onto the street, we proceeded in a well-thought-out manner. On the street side, a sturdy scaffolding with heavy drop cloths was erected as the first protective measure. Subsequently, inside the building, we used a compact demolition robot to carefully dismantle a part of the building. This allowed us to methodically disassemble a section of 10 by 10 meters, from which a strip of 4 meters was then completely demolished to the ground. This created a kind of 'fall chute' that acted as a safety buffer for the demolition of the rest of the building.
Phased Approach
After constructing this safety buffer, we began with the demolition of the part of the building that was furthest from the street, and worked systematically towards the fall chute. We applied a diagonal stair system to prevent ending up with a high, narrow wall at the end of the project that was at risk of falling.
The last part of the building, closest to the street, was demolished with extreme care. This approach ensured that the project was carried out safely and efficiently, without any risk to the surroundings and passersby.
Once the building was completely demolished, our colleagues from Helfaut Travaux took over to further process the rubble.
This project nicely illustrates how we can offer creative solutions for complex demolition projects with our demolition work. Do you have a project that requires our expertise? Schedule a non-binding conversation with one of our experts.