Selective demolition
- kjag55
- Jan 8
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 10
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.
Selective demolition plan
the pre-refurbishment/renovation or pre-demolition audit answers the question "what", but to perform selective demolition, there is a need to answer the question "how", and this is why the so-called selective demolition plan is prepared;
It is crucial to provide enough time between the pre-demolition audit completion and the start of the selective demolition to enable the preparation of a thorough demolition plan.
Usually, a selective demolition plan is prepared by contractors who have the necessary knowledge and experience to suitably choose work sequences and methods for realising the pre-demolition audit's recommendations.
a selective demolition plan includes at least the following:
project scope (i.e., location, owner, contractor, goals);
what methods and in what order will be used to ensure materials and products removal for further reuse/recycling/recovery (following recommendations from the pre-demolition audit) and proper waste sorting;
Many construction materials and products (e.g., windows, plasterboards, wooden elements, sanitary equipment) must be manually dismantled to enable their reuse, which requires additional time.
Before deconstructing/demolishing walls or floors, remove their coverings to improve material separation.
Often, dismantling of particular elements should be done by experts in a specific field (e.g., demolition of electronic and electric equipment is best to be done by electrician contractors, and demolition of pipes is best done by plumbers who know how to handle and transport such elements) to avoid avoidable mistakes and generating additional costs related to reassembling or repairing of dismantled products.
planning of the space for stocking and storing (even temporarily) materials and products for reuse, recycling, and recovery;
There is a need to ensure on-site space for (at least) material and product sorting and packing for further reuse, recycling, and recovery.
logistics for stocking, storing, and transporting materials and products;
Consider on-site operations to avoid extra costs and risks related to material/product transport if they do not compromise the recovered material/product quality.
If transport is needed, try to keep distances as short as possible. The economic feasibility and environmental benefits of reuse and recycling diminish over distance.
ways to address existing safety and security issues;
ways to reduce environmental impacts of the work (e.g., dust emission, leaching of harmful substances, reducing the amount of waste generated for, for instance, packaging).
Sources and further readings
2) M. Wahlström et al., Pre-demolition audit - overall guidance document, 2019.
3) G. Brusa Cattaneo G et al. Circular Construction for Urban Development, 2024.
5) M. Wahlström et al., Improving quality of construction & demolition waste- Requirements for pre-demolition audit, 2019.
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