Fire-hit house taken down
Demolishing a house takes a bit more care and precision than you’d think.
People expect it to involve throwing the digger through it and having bits and pieces flying around everywhere, Denis Wheeler, owner of Denis Wheeler Earth Moving, said.
‘‘We’re probably the most boring demolish people you’ve seen,’’ said Wheeler, whose crew spent Wednesday demolishing a fire-gutted house in Clawton St, New Plymouth.
It takes between eight and 10 hours to demolish a threebedroom house and clear up the site, Wheeler said.
‘‘But it’s not just smash, put it on a truck and take it to the tip.
‘‘There’s a bit more effort to it than that.’’
First, they have to do due diligence, he said.
‘‘You have to make sure the house is free of any bad substance, ie asbestos or anything like that, so that anything that goes to the landfill is clean and is not going to affect the environment in any way. Anything recyclable we recycle.’’
That’s why there is a demolition bucket, which is like a pair of pliers, on the end of the digger.
‘‘You can pick out copper and you can pick out iron and you can pick out stainless steel. We recycle as much stuff as we can.
‘‘The concrete goes to a concrete recycling yard. Having the right tools with the machine means you can sort out the house as you are bringing it down and deal with all the individual things appropriately.’’
Demolishing buildings always attracts a crowd, he said.
‘‘Everyone loves watching a digger smash a house down.
‘‘People love seeing things getting destroyed.’’
They use hoses to suppress dust and always leave a clean site, he said. ‘‘Here it’s just a house. They will rebuild the house and maintain the gardens and clothes line, but in cases where there is total clearance we’ll take all the plants, footpaths, do a complete clear and they’ll build a new house or two new houses on it, or whatever.’’
A 42-year-old New Plymouth man has been charged with arson in relation to the September house fire and is going through the court process.