Imperial Tobacco - Petone, Wellington
Overview
Opened in 1919, the century-old building ceased production of Tobacco by the end of 2020, for Demolition to commence the following year. Situated in the heart of Petone, the 44,000 square meter site is set to provide space for another 95 much needed townhouses upon the development's completion.
Our team of 24 men and women, led by Dalton Ward, worked with some amazing innovations to get the job completed safely. A new dust suppression attachment on our diggers was implemented, this worked to further minimise dust on-top of standard, traditional methods which was necessary for such a central site. A Husqvarna DMR140 Robot, was remotely operated to demolish the lift shaft, alongside other unsafe to access locations, allowing staff to remain out of harm’s way, eliminating hazards.
This job was monumental for Wellington with the highest recycle rate in history. 98% of the structure’s resources were recovered. Read more below.
Scale
7 buildings were demolished across a 44,000 square metre site, under a 6 month time frame. 2 of the buildings required some light asbestos removal which was swiftly dealt with by our highly qualified and experienced team. 2 of our 3 high reach diggers were brought in for the job, alongside 6 other large excavators. Some of our key operators included Dalton Ward, Frances (Fridae) Walter Moore, AJ Montagna, Ronnie Hamilton-Lowe, Hohaia Collier, Zoran Prijic and Tyler Ward who were part of a team of 24. We were well ahead of schedule before the delta outbreak, meaning once we were able to resume operations in level 3, the job was still completed within the agreed timeframe. The largest 5 story structure was saved until last, once this was brought to the ground, it marked the end for the century old Tobacco factory.
Recycling
This Demolition was monumental for Wellington, with the highest level of recycling in history. The overall Recovery Rate was 98%. 100% of the structure's concrete was crushed onsite to be recycled back into the foundations of the new development. A further 5,679 tonnes of concrete was trucked in from other job sites. Meaning 127% of the site’s concrete was recycled with a total of 26,272 tonnes crushed onsite. 20,593 tonnes of which was from the structure itself, eliminating the need for it to be trucked from elsewhere, thus reducing our carbon footprint. On top of this, 100% of the metals were recycled (1,893 tonnes) and all the native timber sacking was salvaged (22 tonnes).
The footings were removed at sea level, which was only 1 meter below the asphalt. Which was why so much recycled concrete was required, in order to raise the site up for the next development.
Dust Supression
With the job being so central, dust was a major hazard in which we factored in to our processes. Our new hydraulic dust suppression attachment on our diggers is an exciting advancement in minimising/ eliminating this hazard. Additionally, a “wet zone” was created by leaving 3 exterior walls intact, a sprinkler system was attached to the top, surrounding the concrete processing area and encapsulating the dust. These measures were added to our standard methods of manning a hose and automated dust suppression machines.
Challenges of the job
The structure included a large tower that was twice the height of our high reach and had to be pushed. This was meticulously planned and discussed with the team to ensure everyone’s safety. A Toolbox talk was held to communicate the procedure and the hazards. An exclusion zone was set up and everyone was made well aware that nobody was to enter the zone for any reason until the all clear was given. The close proximity to our neighbours was taken into account as we monitored vibrations throughout.
Supporting the surrounding Community
At Ward Demolition we always do our best to support the surrounding community as we know living next to an active Demolition site for 5 months can be tedious.
One of the things we did on this Job-site was allow the local Fire-brigade to use the buildings to train new staff/ volunteers before demolition began. This included teaching door entry techniques and testing equipment on various roller doors. We hope that this practice will allow them to be faster and more efficient when it comes to the real thing, potentially saving lives.
Our closest neighbours were the Barnardo’s Early Learning Centre. We wanted to thank the children and teachers for putting up with our noise over the 6 month long job so we purchased a ute load of demolition inspired toys. Dalton hand delivered these toys and personally thanked the teachers for their patience. We hope the children learn plenty and find extensive joy with our gift.
