Selective demolition

A comprehensive pre-refurbishment/renovation or pre-demolition audit should precede selective demolition.

For years, selective demolitions have been performed for projects that have included handling asbestos elements. This means that the base qualifications for performing such a process exist among stakeholders; however, its scope needs to be extended.

Emerging technologies, such as machine learning (aiding in optimising demolition planning and workflow to maximise resource utilisation), can decrease costs and shorten the selective demolition process. However, training AI models requires vast data, and it is challenging in the construction sector, where digital data on buildings, especially older ones, is often missing. Therefore, it's good to keep an eye on such technologies but not wait for their development to perform selective demolition.

General steps of selective demolition

The exact steps of the selective demolition process depend on the project specificity; however, general steps, applicable for both small and large-scale projects, can be listed:

Removing hazardous materials and substances occurs at every step, involving dismantling and removing elements, if applicable.

While removing hazardous materials and substances, strict procedures must be followed to prevent cross-contamination of clean materials and products.

More about hazards related to construction materials and products can be found here.