Advice On Demolition Work

Dmax Consulting

I have just bid on doing some demolition work. This is a government contract and it seems that we are going to get it. I have never done this before so I would be open to any advice you guys have in this type of work.

Here is what the job entails:

We have 40 student housing/ apartment style buildings. They are only 2 stories and have regular a-frame roofs with a minor pitch (approx. 30-40 degrees). The buildings are all brick.

For whatever reason, the city wants the roofs removed separately from the rest of the buildings. All of the waste needs to be put into dumpsters and removed from the site. This is my job. I am considering renting an escavator with a thumb to get the big stuff off the roof and put into the dumpsters and using my crews to take the rest of the stuff off the roofs by hand with tools.

This seems pretty straight forward, but I would like to get others' thoughts and advice.

Thanks.

Daniel

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rustyjames

The city probably wants you to keep the brick and the wood from commingling for recycling purposes. I'm not sure about how much reach you're going to get with an excavator, but the thumb is the ticket for munching the stuff up for the containers.

Bob Kovacs

So you're a painter who won a decent-size demo contract, the city wants the roofs separated from the rest of the waste, but you didn't think to ask why, and you're asking for advice now- after the bid went in and was accepted???? Sounds like a winner to me..............

Painters Choice

Yeah, you got that right! So what makes you think you can even do this job and make a profit when you don't even know how to approach it? Did you just price anything and everything into the bid and they accepted it? You should ask first and then bid... not the other way around. All I would be willing t give you at this point is good luck with that!

Winchester

Wow.

I've never done this before and don't know what to do, but I put a bid in and will probably win.

Famous last words anyone?

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Ryan

knucklehead

I wonder how he came out on this?

griz

WTF, no wonder bidding is so tough.

How would one, with no experience, get bonded for this?

Ya, I know it's an old post. But this kind of Horse Sh!t is still going on.

Tim Garrison PE

I applaud anyone who's looking for a creative way to make a buck in this crappy economy. Such creativity is what's allowed me to prosper through the last two years while my stuck-in-a-rut competition has withered. This type of thing also creates competition, which is good for the industry as a whole and is what America is all about.

I get that you don't make much money when learning. But I call that dues. At least the fellow is smart enough to seek advice on this site. A dumber guy would have just said, "Hell, ain't nothing to a demo job" and just gone for it.

Now my advice: Call a demo contractor in another county or state and ask him a few questions. Most guys are happy to help a compadre in need, particularly if he's not a competitor. It's the "Builder 20 Club" mentality. The guy giving advice feels good to be recognized as an expert and it always feels good to help someone.

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