Choosing the Right Excavator Setup for Demolition

About Me
The Big Build: How to Use Heavy Construction Equipment

My name is Jerry, and I run a small construction company in Perth. My team normally completes relatively small jobs such as plastering walls, repairing electrical systems and constructing patios. However, one day a big client got in touch to say they wanted me to help them construct a large apartment building. I have never taken on such a big job before, but I thought it was a good chance to grow my business and gain some new skills. A friend who has completed large scale jobs before advised me on how I should hire the people and heavy construction equipment needed for the job. I learnt a lot from him, and my company has since completed several more big construction jobs. I have decided to start this blog to advise others how to hire and maintain heavy equipment.

Choosing the Right Excavator Setup for Demolition

31 May 2017
 Categories: , Blog


An excavator is a commonly-used piece of construction equipment, seen on construction sites around the world. Although, as the name suggests, they're normally used for digging, this isn't their only use. There are actually quite a few different attachments available for excavators, allowing them to be used for clearing snow, drilling, and even sweeping.

But one situation where an excavator can be extremely useful is demolition. If you need to tear down a building or some other structure – either fully or partially – an excavator could be the perfect machine for the job. All you need is the right setup and you're good to go, so make sure you don't forget anything by following these tips:

The excavator

In a way, any decent excavator has the potential to carry out demolition work effectively. However, one thing you should certainly give some thought to is the size of the structure being demolished.

If it's a small building you're working on, like a shed or some garages, you might be able to get away with using a mini excavator, and a standard one will certainly be big enough. As the building gets bigger, however, you're going to start running into problems.

Some excavators are available with extra reach, so you can have a longer boom without needing to deal with a massive cab. Just make sure the counterweight is sufficient to deal with whatever you'll be doing.

Attachments

Successful demolition may require the use of a few different tools, which is exactly why an excavator makes a great choice: instead of using multiple machines, you can use just one, changing only the attachment on the boom.

Grab or grapple attachments are useful to pull at sections of a building, and for moving any debris that's created. You might also want to use shears for cutting through and pulling apart any metal in the structure.

If you have a lot of different materials to dismantle, a universal processor might be your best bet. This attachment is designed to perform various tasks and cut through a variety of substances, making demolition easier than ever.

The operator

Before you start a demolition project, you should ensure your excavator operators are properly trained. They might only have experience in standard excavating tasks, in which case you might run into problems when they're tasked with a wholly different sort of work.

You may find that additional training is needed, or that you need to hire additional personnel for the job. For more information on securing an excavator hire, click here!