C&D appointed explosive demolition consultants on Oldham car park

C&D are delighted to have been appointed as explosive demolition consultants to DSR Limited for their work to demolish a failed car park in Oldham.

This particularly difficult implosion was carried out as the car park was in serious danger of collapse which prevented the use of more conventional demolition techniques.

Mike Kehoe and Matty Bardgett were the C&D team for the project.

C&D assists in complex Warrington car park demolition

This Sunday, Mike Kehoe of the C&D Liverpool office team were collaborating with J Bryan Ltd. on the demolition of a structurally unsafe car park in Warrington.

J Bryan asked Mike to assist with the complex job to bring his experience of over 40 car park demolitions throughout the UK to the project. The work was carried out on time with zero incidents.

Well done J Bryan.

You can see more images of the job over at the Warrington Guardian

DDS Demolition get started on changing the face of Dover

C&D Consultancy customer DDS Demolition has started changing the face of Dover by demolishing the derelict multi-storey car park behind Burlington House as the video below shows:



When the demolition is complete it is hoped that 95% of the materials will be recycled on a nearby processing location. Once complete, DDS will move on to the demolition of Burlington House in the autumn.

Source: KentOnline

C&D customer DSM Demolition start work in Plymouth

The Mayflower West car park in Plymouth was closed in late 2013 after safety concerns were raised, but it has taken until now for demolition work to commence. Thankfully it's in the very capable hands of DSM Demolition.

The reason for the delay? The amount of asbestos found on site, and the importance of removing it safely. Asbestos was expected according to the council, just nowhere near as much as they discovered. You can see DSM in action on the site by following the source link below.

Once removed, it is thought a new coach hub may be built on site. More car parking needs to be found, though, as local businesses are concerned about their ability to trade if customers can't park close by.

Source: The Plymouth Herald

Watch DDS Demolition demolish a multi-storey car park

DDS Demolition was awarded the contract to not only demolish the multi-storey car park in King Street, Maidstone, Kent, but to replace it with a new car park, too.

The multi-storey structure was constructed in the 1970's using a "lift-slab" method, meaning it has since been proven to fail, ultimately causing a safety risk. The video above shows in detail how DDS demolished the structure and the great new car park they installed in its place. The whole job took 6 months and resulted in 98% of the materials being recycled. It's well worth a watch.

CUDDY Demolition & Dick Green demolish the Capitol car park in Newport South Wales in less than 20 seconds

C&D congratulate CUDDY Group and our old friend Dick Green on a successful demolition last Sunday.

Plenty of footage of the Newport Capitol car park demolition can be seen over at the South Wales Argus, and we've also included a video below of the implosion as it happened.

Timelapse of Birmingham's Pallasades Shopping Centre car park demolition

Birmingham's Pallasades Shopping Centre and New Street Station are currently undergoing a major renovation. Part of that effort saw the removal of the Pallasades car park, which was also captured on video and turned into a timelapse.

Unfortunately ITV News has restricted the embedding of that video, but you can watch it via the link provided below:

Watch the video now at ITV News

Another car park collapse

Over the last few months we have reported on a number of car park collapses including Southend on Sea and John called for regular inspections of UK car parks as he was concerned at the number of incidents worldwide.

We are now sorry to report that yet another car park has collapsed in Shanghai at 9.00pm on New Year's Eve. The car park was deserted at the time as it was under construction but our concerns are that it may have collapsed when full of cars and people.

Following on from John's call for inspections he met with members of the UK Car Parks Operators before Christmas to discuss his concerns and he has now been asked to contribute to a joint article calling for regular inspections. The article will be featured on this site as soon as it is completed, but in the meantime keep your eye on the press and see how many more car parks collapse before inspections are increased.

If you have a car park that is old and requiring demolition please contact us for advice on how to do the work and which contractors to include on the tender list as we have recently been involved in demolition of car parks in Southend on Sea, Scunthorpe, and Barnstaple.

Concrete Repair Association calls for car park inspections

Back in July we heard about a car park collapse in Ontario that killed 2 people and injured many more. At the time there was a call from multi-storey car park operators for an inspection regime to stop such an incident happening again.

Now the Concrete Repair Association (CRA) is calling for the same thing and supporting the British Parking Association in wanting to introduce a compulsory inspection regime throughout the UK.

Although car parks are expected to last just like bridges are when expsoed to the elements, ultimately they are built to a less rigorous design code according to the CRA. And even if car park owners stay on top of repairs and inspections, a compulsory system would make it formal, required, and therefore safer for everyone using car parks on a regular basis.

Source: Cracking Matters (PDF)

Multi Storey Car park operators call for inspection regime

New Civil Engineer this month includes an article on the state of UK multi storey car parks and the need for them to be regularly inspected and maintained to prevent collapse. A recent collapse in Ontario, as mentioned in the article, caused the death of 2 people and injured many more and lead us to believe that similar incidents could occur in the UK.

The article mentions the car park in Scunthorpe, where C&D were acting as demolition consultants to the council, that was closed and then demolished by GBM Limited following the failure of a routine inspection. We have, in the West Midlands, seen the collapse of a car park in Piper's Row, Wolverhampton on 20 March 1997 (subsequently demolished by Coleman & Company) and the recent explosive demolition of Stourbridge Car Park by DSM (featured on this site).

C&D have also been involved as demolition consultants for the demolition of Barnstaple Car Park, by Lawson Demolition Limited and as consultants following the partial collapse of a car park at Southend on Sea during demolition by Elvanite Limited.

From our own experience of structures of this type we can only agree with the car park operators that regular inspection, testing, and maintenance is needed to ensure that our ageing car parks remain safe, and all suspect car parks are demolished safely and quickly to remove any chance of a premature collapse.

If you would like details of our work as consultants on multi storey car park demolition please do not hesitate to contact john.woodward@demolishdismantle.co.uk

Our thanks go to John Harris of Stewart & Harris Limited for sending us the article.

Watch the Get Carter car park being demolished

Thompsons of Prudhoe won the tender for demolishing the Get Carter Gateshead Trinity Square car park. And we appreciate them taking the time to create this time lapse photography video of the demolition in progress.

According to the Thompsons video page we can expect a few more of these videos too:

"Thompsons newly acquired Komatsu 750 super high reach 360o excavator machine will assist our Caterpillar 350 high reach machine to demolish the car park, working top to bottom in a pre-determined sequence. Demolitions commenced at 09:00 on 27/7/10 and will be captured by time lapse photography throughout."

Source: Demolition News

Get Carter car park demolition to begin July 26th

Any fan of Michael Caine has seen the film Get Carter. At one point he throws a man off the top of a car park, a car park that still stands to this day in Gateshead. But its days are numbered as a demolition date has been set.

The car park was first opened in 1969, and remained functional until its closure in 2008. Now the structure will be demolished to make way for retail units, offices, a student village, town centre parking, and a supermarket as part of a larger regeneration project.



Councillor Mick Henry, Leader of Gateshead Council, acknowledged the car park's place in history:

"This car park is a significant part of Gateshead's history.

For forty years it has been visible from across Newcastle and Gateshead and, as well as accommodating thousands of cars over the years, it has been a huge talking point and a great location for filming and photography.

We all recognise its architectural style, whether loved or hated, but we've long awaited the opportunity to redevelop the town centre to better suit the needs and expectations of people who live and work here."

The demolition is expected to take eight weeks, with a further eight required to clear the site.

You can see the car park in the Get Carter trailer below at the 1m 55 mark:



Source: BBC News