Asbestos delays Savoy refurbishment…

Higher-than-expected levels of asbestos delay the refurbishment of the Savoy Hotel

UK trade magazine Contract Journal reports that the £100m refurbishment of London’s Savoy Hotel is running at least four months behind schedule after the historic building was found to be riddled with asbestos.

Specialist asbestos contractor Caswell was awarded a £3.2m contract in December 2007 which was due to finish last November. But Caswell still has a team on site after higher levels of asbestos than expected were discovered at one of London’s most famous hotels.

Read the full story here.

Worker trapped by demolition debris…

BREAKING NEWS: Demolition worker trapped by falling debris.

Word is just reaching us that a demolition worker has been trapped by falling debris on a contract in Columbus, Ohio. According to NBC4i, rescue crews were called to a South Side demolition site Tuesday afternoon after a worker was injured in a three metre shaft.

Details remain sketchy at the time of writing but more details can be found here.

Holy high reach…

Those readers of a certain age will remember the original Batman TV series (with Adam West as the caped crusader) in which Batman and Robin would occasionally “scale tall buildings” using the tried and tested special effects method of making the floor of the studio look like a wall and laying the camera on its side to give the illusion they were actually scaling a sheer wall.

This video from Brussels, which has been shot from a truly bizarre angle, reminded me of that TV series and its high tech special effects. Holy High Reach Batman!!

Downwell takes Komatsu option…

Surrey based Downwell Demolition has expanded its impressive machine fleet with three Komatsu PC210LCD-8 tracked excavators, purchased from sole UK distributor, Marubeni-Komatsu.

Their latest purchase comes during difficult conditions in the construction industry and is an indication of projects that they have secured for the rest of the year. Their long list of clients goes to show that their strapline of ‘Demolition Done Well’ is achieved with every single project.

Downwell Demolition is a relatively new company having only been in operation for 5 years but have an impressive fleet of 25 machines which range from 21 tonne to 45 tonne and high reach excavators.

The new additions will be used for a number of projects over the coming months including a DEFRA project in Guildford and a demolition project in London. Both projects involve the demolition of existing buildings to make way for new, affordable housing.

As members of the National Demolition Training Group, Downwell Demolition invests in training facilities which means that all demolition and plant operatives are trained for their specific task. As users of Constructionline, the UK register of pre-qualified construction services, the company is able to save time and improve efficiency by using the database of pre-qualified suppliers and contractors.

“After approaching the entire market when purchasing their new machines, Downwell Demolition believes that Komatsu is far stronger and superior than any other,” concludes plant manager Kevin Foster. “In addition to this, Marubeni-Komatsu’s customer support services are reliable and overall, is what helped secure the deal.”

Sneak preview of new Resurgam House…

As the National Federation of Demolition Contractors’ head office, Resurgam House in Staines, Middlesex is the spiritual home of the UK demolition industry. But at the end of March, the NFDC is relocating and the Resurgam House plaque will be hung above the door of the new premises near Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire.

Considerably larger and better equipped, the new facility will provide an excellent base through which to provide an enhanced level of training.

In this exclusive photo, you can see how work is progressing on making the new premises ready for the grand opening at the end of March:

NDA website gets major makeover…

The US’ National Demolition Association has given its website a major overhaul.

The National Demolition Association, which represents some 1,000+ members across the US and Canada, has unveiled its new website; and it’s a vast improvement in terms of appearance and navigation.

Personally, I would have liked an RSS feed capability or, better still, a direct Twitter feed but, even without it, the site is a major step forward.

Woodward heading for Swadlincote…

IDE vice-president John Woodward will be speaking in Swadlincote on 11 February 2009.

IDE vice-president and Demolition News regular John Woodward is making a return visit to the Midlands region of The Institute of Construction Management on Wednesday 11 February to speak about North Sea Oil Rig Demolition.

The talk will take place at 8.00 pm at the Ski Centre in Swadlincote, Derbyshire and all are welcome.

John was invited back to the venue following a successful presentation last Autumn on Tower Block Demolition.

Top down video…

Five-storey building succumbs to top-down demolition using Brokk machines.

Brokk, the pioneering manufacturer of remote-controlled demolition machines, brings us this video showing the top-down demolition of a five-storey structure in the US.

Tired of time-lapse…

Yet ANOTHER time-lapse demolition video

Make the most of this post as this is going to be the last time-lapse video for a while….they’re just a bit 2008 now aren’t they?

Waste & Recycling firms at risk from credit crunch…

Credit crunch could lead to failure of waste and recycling companies.

According to MRW magazine, large waste and recycling companies could be at risk if the Government does not intervene to ensure access to new credit over the next three months. Business lobby group, the CBI, warned that a worsening credit crunch could hit companies following research into businesses’ access to financial credit, published today.

Read the full story here.