Either this is piped wrong or this operator has had WAY too much coffee.

That a little knowledge is a dangerous thing is both a cliche and a truism. But it applies so beautifully to the following video that we were alerted to by our buddies over at Northerntrack.

What starts out as a simple demonstration of a rotating grab quickly morphs into qhat looks like the most cumbersome drill bit on God’s green Earth.

“This is a wonderful example of how to destroy your shiny new selector grapple by failing to correctly set-up the rotation line pressures and flow rates. Rotation flow rate is very important on your hydraulic equipment, this grapple should be receiving around 10-12 litres of oil per minute at 130 Bar, not the full machine pump flows it obviously is,” says Northerntrack’s Andy Hair. “Perhaps if the driver puts his stick in the air and sets it going he may actually persuade this machine to take off helicopter style.”

No-one hurt as steel trusses come down.

Sixteen connected steel trusses at Roberts Stadium were expected to come down one-by-one today, but instead, the structure collapsed at once, City-County Building Authority Director David Rector said.

No one was hurt at the demolition site. Klenck Co. of Evansville is the demolition project’s lead contractor.

Rector said workers were torching through each of the 16 beams one-by-one, and the mishap occurred on about the sixth beam.

He said that although the process today did not go as planned, the cost and schedule of the demolition project is unchanged.

Read more here.

New magazine raises the bar for demolition publications.

It’s been a long time coming but it is finally time to reveal the worst-kept secret in the global demolition industry: DemolitionNews has spawned a new magazine!

For the past few months, the team that brought you DemolitionNews has been working covertly on the development of an all-new industry magazine that is like nothing you have ever seen or read.

There has been one defining criterion that has driven the development of this magazine and that is “demolition is something you do, and not who you are”. So while we will be focusing on the latest developments in front-line demolition, don’t be too surprised when we cover more peripheral subjects such as cars and vehicles, smartphone and electronics, and even clothing.

Our aim – aside from world domination – is to bring you a magazine that is equally at home on the desk in your office, or on the coffee table in your home.

Initially, the magazine will be available in printed format ONLY in the UK and Ireland and electronically elsewhere. But who knows what the future may hold?

If you think Demolition is the greatest literary achievement since Shakespeare, we want to know. Equally, if you think the first edition sucks harder than a leaf blower on reverse, we’d like to hear why. And if you’d like to offer your suggestions for future features and developments, please don’t keep them to yourselves.

We sincerely hope you enjoy the new magazine but we want your honest opinion.

The key driving force behind the new magazine is that it is inclusive and not just opened to a privileged few. So get involved and help us make Demolition your regular industry read of choice.

Haunting footage takes a closer look at the demolition of fire-damaged block encased in ice.

Images of fire crews attempting to control a Chicago warehouse fire that caused water from the fire hoses to freeze as thick sheets of ice on the building’s exterior went viral just a week or so ago.

And now, as demolition crews near completion of their work on the still-smoldering site, some new footage has emerged that truly captures the extent of the fire and, moreover, the ice.

demolition sequence 5 from olivia block on Vimeo.

Advanced issue of our yet-to-be-published magazine appears on eBay.

Such is the anticipation surrounding our all-new Demolition magazine that an advanced copy has turned up on eBay.

At first glance, it appears that a shrewd business mind is trying to turn a fast buck on the most eagerly awaited publication since the final installment of the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy.

But reading to the foot of the ad suggests that this good-natured profiteer has rather ore altruistic motives in mind.

So, although you now have less than 24 hours to wait, don’t let that stop you bidding!

Final preparations ahead of April date with the explosives experts.

After months of controversy, the iconic Asarco Smelter smokestacks are finally set to be demolished within the first week of April. Because of the university’s close proximity to the demolition site and the nature of the stacks’ removal, UTEP stands as a possible affected area when the day comes.

“Our goal is to try to make sure that the dust that’s created by the explosion doesn’t get past the perimeter of the drop zone,” said Robert Puga, custodial trustee of the Asarco cleanup project. “I will be coordinating closely with UTEP’s Vice President Ricardo Adauto to make sure he knows when we’re going to do this, to make sure that we answer any questions that administration may have, and to make sure that if they have any concerns we will address them.”

“What we’re doing is essentially creating a corridor or burr—which is essentially a dirt wall—around the fall zone which will collect dust and then send it upwards as opposed to laterally,” Puga said. “We’re also trying to set up the water system to exaggerate the air in the fall zone with water droplets so that when you drop the stacks into the zone, the water droplets absorb the dust and that will cushion out the effect. There is also a small mountain between the fall zone and UTEP which will act as secondary protection.”

Read more here.

Endangered mollusc prevents bride demolition contractor from flexing its mussels.

Over the years, we have heard of demolition contracts being delayed by the presence of everything from bats and newts to birds, lizards and protected plants. But now, concerns over the breeding season of an endangered mussel could delay the demolition of the Broad Avenue Bridge for five months.

Only one span of the Broad Avenue Bridge is still standing. It could remain there until June because of environmental concerns for the purple bankclimber mussel.

The contractor cannot work from mid February to mid June during the breeding season of the protected mussel.

Experts from the U-S Fish and Wildlife Service are working on options now to protect the species and keep the bridge project on schedule.

Read ore here, or view the local news video below:

WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

Operator’s eye view gives unique insight into what it looks like when a building comes down.

DemolitionNews and its YouTube channel is filled to the brim with videos of buildings coming down, all shot from a safe distance outside the exclusion zone. Fascinating they may be, but they’re about as close to the gritty realism of a demolition site as viewing the football highlights from the comfy embrace of the sofa.

This video, however, is different. It is shot from the operator’s perspective and gives a real flavour of what it looks like when a building comes down and – of course – when the dust comes up.

Owner of Orr-Reed Wrecking was victim of fatal attack in Saturday bar fight.

50-year-old John Martin Hargrove was beaten to death during a fight at Club Extasis on East Grand Avenue in Old East Dallas. Today his brother confirms that Hargrove was the owner of Orr-Reed Wrecking Co. on Rock Island Street, a longtime local fixture.

Police also report that a witness is being threatened not to testify against 23-year-old Federico Prado, the suspect in the slaying. According to police, the witness has received text messages, cell phone calls and Facebook messages, despite having not been named in the arrest warrant affidavit naming Prado.

As we reported over the weekend, Hargrove and Prado got into a fight early Saturday morning at Club Extasis on East Grand Avenue in Old East Dallas. A witness told officers Prado kicked Hargrove in the head several times while he was on the ground.

Read more here.

City seeks cure for the ‘cancer’ of abandoned and dilapidated homes.

Banged up, boarded up and left for dead; abandoned homes are a problem for everyone. Jim Rokakis is championing a new study to prove it.

“All I can guarantee you for sure is this: If you don’t take a property like that down, it will like cancer spread. To the adjoining property, and the property next to that, and overtime people will leave these communities entirely. And who’s backstopping those mortgages? You and me. The U.S. government,” said Rokakis, former Cuyahoga County treasurer, now serving as director of the Thriving Communities Institute.

Cleveland has been aggressive following the foreclosure crisis. More than 15,000 buildings have been condemned since 2006. And the city’s spent $50 million to demolish 6,500 properties.

“They’ve done a good job but the resources are running out now, we have to look for other sources of revenue,” said Rokakis.

Rokakis is working with city leaders to fund a 10-month study to show the US Treasury how its funding up front could help clean up and clear out the old, and save us all in the long run. With the collapse of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the government now backs 9 out of 10 mortgages.

“It’s demolition that helps to preserve some sense of stability in a neighborhood. And help to make sure that remaining property owners don’t lose faith and walk away from their mortgage,” said Rokakis.

Read more here, or view the local news video below: