Good article regarding the blowdown of Tarfside Oval

C&D Consultancy was the Principal Designer on the blowdown of Tarfside Oval and we've spotted a great article over on DRi about the job written by Lindsay Gale. Please take the time to give it a read by clicking the link below.

You can also view our coverage of the blowdown including video footage.

Source: DRi

Brown & Mason confirm date and exclusion zone for Cockenzie Power Station chimneys blowdown

BBC News have confirmed the blowdown date for the Cockenzie chimneys and turbine hall and issued a copy of the exclusion zone agreed by Mick Williams and his team. It will occur at noon on Saturday, September 26th.

From our point of view it is interesting to note the plans for observers on the day:-

"No vantage points or parking spaces have been allocated to view this event and so anyone visiting the area is asked to be considerate to the local community and try to minimise any disruption."

Well done on this stance and best of luck on the day.

Source: BBC News

Watch Greyfriars be demolished with the aid of 2,200 explosive charges

If you visited the site yesterday, then you'd have been able to watch the Greyfriars bus station implosion live through a camera feed. But don't worry if you couldn't make it as the event was recorded for posterity. Included here are a couple of videos showing the station being raised to the ground.

The building has been referred to as the "mouth of hell" and has stood in Northampton for the last 40 years. DSM Demolition ended up using 2,200 explosive charges to demolish the building. It looks to have gone smoothly.

Watch the Greyfriars bus station live right here

As we reported earlier this week, C&D customer DSM Demolition is spending this weekend demolishing Greyfriars bus station, and in the process creating a very large dust of cloud. Unfortunately, there isn't a good vantage point in the safe zone to watch the blowdown from, but technology is coming to the rescue.

Above is a webcam that will show the action live when it happens this coming Sunday, March 15th. So head back here on Sunday, maybe after you've watched the ridiculously early Australian grand prix, and watch Greyfriars come down.

If for any reason the video above doesn't work, you also watch it directly on UStream.

C&D customer DSM get ready for another major inner city blowdown

Sunday, March 15th will see C&D Customer DSM Demolition create a large dust cloud over Northampton. The cloud is unavoidable due to it being caused by the blowdown of Greyfriars bus station.

One side effect of the dust is that there will apparently be no good vantage point for watching the blowdown, in part due to the large safety zone being setup around the station. This will include the closure of the main shopping street, Abington Street. Albert Street, Wellington Street, Greyfriars, Lady’s Lane, part of Sheep Street, Newland and Victoria Street will also all be closed.

You can see the map detailing the safety/exclusion zone below (click the image to see it full size):


The good news is, there will be a live camera available to view on the day, which you can watch here.

Source: Northampton Chronicle

C&D customer DSM carry out classic blowdown in Leicester

Congratulations to all in the DSM team for a successful blowdown of a multi-storey office complex on a tight site in Leicester. You can see footage of the New Walk Centre job below:

Old Northampton bus station to be demolished March 15th

C&D customer DSM has set the date for the Northampton Greyfriars demolition as March 15th.

Northampton will see an exclusion zone setup around the Greyfriars building on the Sunday, with local residents evacuated beforehand as a precautionary measure. Then a controlled explosion will be used to bring the structure down.

Although inconvenient for residents, the removal of the building opens the way for new development. The site is expected to be made ready for such redevelopment later this year, with Northampton Borough Council investigating exactly what is the best use of the land going forward.

Source: Northampton Chronicle and image from Whohe!

Crumbling Leicester council offices blowdown happening February 22nd

Anyone accustomed to the Leicester skyline will recognise the old council office. Well, come February 22nd they will be no more as DSM Demolition will be demolishing them by way of a blowdown.

In fact, this is a double blowdown event as the New Walk Centre is also being raised to the ground using a controlled explosion. Cameras will be setup to record the event alongside the inevitable smartphone footage that will make its way on to YouTube.

We'll be sure to post any footage that appears following the blowdowns.

Source: BBC News

Stadium blowdown happening March 25th in Orlando

This coming Sunday there's set to be a large implosion taking place in Orlando, Florida. The building is the Amway Arena, also known as the Orlando Arena and TD Waterhouse Centre.

It has been closed since September, 2010, and demolition started in December last year. However, the outer structure is being taken down with explosives after everything that could be recycled from the interior has been removed.

The O-Rena is no small structure, and regularly seated 15-18,000 people for sporting events including basketball, football, ice hockey, and concerts. Now it will be removed to make way for a new "urban development."

The level of dust the implosion will create is high, but things are helped by the fact the arena is surrounded by large car parks. Even so, nearby residence are being asked to keep all windows closed for a couple of hours from 7am this Sunday. Unusually, the blowdown will take down the structure, but leaves the four corner pillars standing. The reason for this is unclear.

For most of us the blowdown will mean one thing: lots of implosion footage to watch early next week. If it gets uploaded to the Internet, we'll be sure to feature it on the site.

Source: Bright House Sports Network

Safedem & Dick Green blowdown Dundee tower blocks

C&D Customer Safedem Limited, with our friend Dick Green as part of the team, succesfully demolished four tower blocks in Dundee by explosives on Sunday morning 31 July.

C&D were not involved in this project, but we send our congratulations to William Sinclair and his team on a job well done. The following links show the blowdown from different angles but it is easy to see that the towers dropped nicely into the intended exclusion zones.

Aston University two towers blowdown

Earlier today DSM Demolition and PDC Explosives Engineers (John Faulkner and Robyn Rushforth) carried out a blowdown of two towers on the Aston University campus in Birmingham.

Anyone who knows Aston University will be aware that it is possitioned right next to a major dual carriageway making precision crucial otherwise tomorrow's rush hour would have been a nightmare. C&D were initial consultants on the project and aided the decision to go with a blowdown in such a tight site.

As you can see in the videos, it looks as though the blowdown went without a hitch.

Dick Green looks back at an explosive first 12 months

Our friend Dick Green has a great new article up at Demolition & Recycling International. Rather than looking at a new job he is undertaking it instead focuses on his first 12 months as a new company, and what an eventful year it has been.

12+ blow downs, a 15-storey hotel in Qatar, and a 65,000-seat Texas Stadium are just a few of the highlights.

Check out the Dick Green review here:
http://www.khl.com/magazines/demolition-and-recycling-international/detail/item61963/

Make Mine a Builders Blowdown Pack

Make Mine a Builders sent through the above pack shot in case you were wondering what to look for in the supermarket. Just don't expect the plunging handle...

Competition details can be found in yesterday's post on the site

Fantastic new blowdown competition

Whenever we are involved in an explosive demolition contract everyone we speak to says:- “I would love to be able to press the button to blow something down”.

Well now you can!

C&D have agreed to partner in a competition with our friends John Faulkner & Robyn Rushforth at Professional Demolition Consultancy Ltd and Make Mine A Builders Tea to give you the chance to press the button at a blowdown later this year.



So how do I enter I hear you cry!

There are two ways:-

1. Click the link below that takes you to the Make Mine a Builders Tea website and enter there by clicking on the blast plunger and following the directions, but you can only enter once on the website. www.makemineabuilders.com


2. Buy a box of Make Mine a Builders teabags from Morrisons, Asda or other leading supermarkets and enter via the coupon on the pack. The more tea that you buy (and it is great tea) then the more chances you have to push the button.

Safedem to bring down Glasgow towers simultaneously

Safedem Ltd., which already had the contract for one block of flats at Red Road in Glasgow, has now secured the contract for the other block.

Being in charge of demolition for both blocks now has Safedem looking into a simultaneous demolition. Such a move will save local residence a number of headaches as road and rail closures will only have to be implemented once.

Safedem Managing Director William Sinclair said:

"We have been working with GHA and the local community for just over a year now and have carried out continual reviews to minimise the impact of our operations upon local residents and businesses.

Now that we are involved with the demolition of this next building, it didn't make sense to go ahead and demolish the first building then, a few months later, demolish the next building.

It does, however, make sense to have one blowdown demolition operation bringing both buildings down at the same time to minimise the impact on the community.

It means there will be less upheaval having only one evacuation for local residents and businesses instead of two."

The blowdown is expected to take place next year. As soon as we know the date we'll pass it along in case you want to be present on the day.

Source: 24dash.com via Demolition News

Blowdown Calendar for w/c 21st September 2009

Blowdown contracts for C&D are a bit like buses, at certain times of the year we can go for months without being involved with a blowdown and then like this week, two come along at once!

On Thursday 24/09/09 Lee Demolition and PDC explosives engineers are carrying out the demolition of two structures at the St. Regis Paper Mill, Caldicot, Monmouthshire, NP26 5XT.

The blasts can be viewed from a public viewing area within the site and the blast is scheduled for Noon.

On Sunday 27/09/09 AR Demolition and PDC explosives engineers are carrying out the demolition of two chimneys at the Former Timken Works, Desford Lane, Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire.

The blasts can be viewed from a public viewing area off Desford Lane and the blast is scheduled for 11.00am. Anyone intending to view this blast should try to get to site early as it is being filmed by BBC Television and Richard Hammond will be presenting to camera on the day. Refreshments will be available for purchase on the day if you leave home before having breakfast.

We hope to see you there!

Coleman blowdown

In case you couldn't make it, here's the Coleman blowdown as it happened:



and from a different angle: