Wrecking ball fails to topple giant robot.

Those of us that heaved a sigh of relief when 29 August 1997 – the date the Terminator movies predicted machines would become self-aware – might need to think again. Because if the machines ever do hanker after world domination, even those of us in possession of a wrecking ball have no defence.

As you will see from the video below, a wrecking ball consistently fails to topple a giant robot. And even when one massive hit takes the robot to its tipping point, the robot is back in its feet (tracks) faster than you can say “hasta la vista, baby“.

(You can fast-forward to the 4.11 mark to see the wrecking ball in action).

As new demolition show airs, we’re making ready with our latest Demolition TV episode.

If you’re reading this outside the UK then what I am about to say will be of virtually no use to you whatsoever so please feel free to move on.

However, if you ARE in the UK and if you have Sky TV, then you might want to check out a new show called The Demolition Man which you can find on Insight channel 564.

DemolitionNews’ editor Mark Anthony was executive producer on the show. Thankfully, he does not appear on camera to frighten small children but you’re certain to spot some familiar faces.

You can check out the show’s trailer below.

And, if you prefer your Demolition TV with a little less implied jeopardy, then get ready for the arrival of the fifth episode of Demolition TV (delayed by the accident that befell the aforementioned Mark Anthony) which is scheduled to drop on Monday. There’s a trailer for that show below too:

The Demolition Man from Middlechild TV on Vimeo.

The shallow end of the gene pool is just overflowing right now.

Before you press play on the video below, most of you will know the outcome purely from the thumbnail image. But don’t let that you put you off hitting play.

First, you have to admire the man’s perseverance as blow after sledgehammer blow fails to ring the wall down. Then take a moment to marvel at his total disregard for his own personal safety. Finally, look on in awe at how an entire wall manages to stay upright balanced on just a single block.

Welcome to the 40-watt club for the terminally dim my friend – You have truly earned your place:

Video gets behind the scenes of abandoned market as demolition commences.

A pack of biscuits sits unopened upon a counter top. Half full jars of sweets and candies lie abandoned, the scales used to weight them out colecting dust close by. And books line shelves unread.

This is the sight that greeted the team at Hague Demolition & Dismantling when it arrived to begin the demolition of the former Barnsley Market. And it makes for a fascinating video too:

Barnsley Market Demolition 21/09/16 from Geoff Fox on Vimeo.

Time-lapse captures contractor’s work at London Bridge Station.

Keltbray is one of the UK’s largest and best-known demolition contractors. It also has a highly active and renowned rail division.

And at London Bridge Station, the company is combining both skill sets as this time-lapse film demonstrates.

Judge halts demolition just as it begins.

The final curtain fell on the Terrace Theatre in Robbinsdale more than 17 years ago, so local residents were delighted to see demolition crews arrive and make ready to remove the disused structure from the Minnesota landscape once and for all.

But just 15 minutes into the demolition work, a judge called a halt. Prompted by a petition from local preservationists, the theatre was given a stay of execution, albeit with a gaping hole in the building’s side:

Dykon implosion fells Kentucky cooling tower.

Unit 2 cooling tower at the Big Sandy Plant was reduced to rubble on Saturday morning.

The demolition of the 47-year-old tower was necessary after EPA guidelines idled the plant’s coal-burning capabilities in May 2015. The plans are for the area to eventually become an industrial park.

Retiree Bob Armstrong, a 30-year employee at Big Sandy, pushed the button to detonate the explosion that was carried out by Dykon Explosive Demolition.

Collapse demolition contractor was ‘totally incompetent, inexperienced’

The owner, property manager, and architect whose Center City demolition project ended in the deadly 2013 collapse that crushed a Salvation Army thrift store failed to follow construction industry “customs and practices” in hiring their demolition contractor, an industry expert testified Thursday.

Estrin testified for the plaintiffs in the Common Pleas Court trial of lawsuits filed on behalf of six people killed and 13 injured on June 5, 2013.

Estrin said Richard Basciano, the New York real estate speculator who owned the vacant four-story Hoagie City building at 2136-38 Market St., and his property manager and top aide, Thomas Simmonds, did no due-diligence research before hiring North Philadelphia demolition contractor Griffin Campbell.

Instead, Estrin said, Basciano and Simmonds relied solely on a recommendation by Center City architect Plato A. Marinakos Jr., whom they hired as their representative monitoring demolition of five Basciano properties in the 2100 and 2200 blocks of Market Street.

And Marinakos recommended Campbell, the lower bidder against two established demolition contractors, despite the fact that Campbell had no city contractor’s license and had demolished just two burned-out rowhouses.

Read more here.

Amateur video captures moment Nebraska demolition goes awry.

The Old Village Hall in downtown Arlington is the building that was supposed to be demolished, but in the process, a wall on the south side of the structure collapsed and crashed into the north wall of the post office.

Grefe Excavating said they had started demolition there on Wednesday, and the area will eventually be the site of the town’s new municipal building.

Representatives with the company said the hall was in worse shape than they had thought. The freestanding wall on the south came down unexpectedly as they worked on the north side with an excavator.

A clerk and customer were inside the post office at the time of the accident.

Collins Demolition gets started at Rhyl’s Sun Centre.

Demolition workers from Collins Demolition have moved onto the site and began tearing down the beloved water park as the resort’s seafront begins its latest re-birth thanks to a £29 million development.

The removal of the former landmark – which in its heyday had tropical storm effects, a wave pool, novelty slides and an indoor surfing pool – will pave the way for Denbighshire County Council’s plans to refurbish Rhyl Pavilion’s Theatre and build a new 4,000 square metre exhibition and events centre. The development will act as an extension to the theatre and offer space to hold Christmas fairs, an ice rink and a Santa’s Grotto.

The Sun Centre opened in 1980 and closed in 2014 when the trust set up to run it, Clwyd Leisure, went into administration.

The new aquatic centre is part of Rhyl’s waterfront development project. This has been funded partly by the Welsh Government and Denbighshire County Council, with the remainder from private sector investment being secured by Neptune Developments Limited.

Read more here.