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pitt_md
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 32 Pine Island, MN USA
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2007-05-23          142386

I am building a new house next to my old farm house. when we get moved into the new place I want to try and remove the old house myself. My current plan is to run a steel cable through a section of the house and pull it out. When enough of the walls are removed the house will fall in the direction the walls were taken from. My new house will only be about 10' away so I have to be carefull not to have it fall in that direction. Time is not really a concern. I am just trying to save a couple thousand bucks to have this job done. I have a Kabota 4WD MX5000 (50hp) with a LA852 loader. Anyone have experience with this type of work? Is my tractor big enough for the job?

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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2007-05-23          142392

Please don't take this reply as offensive, but merely the adivice of a (semi-retired) contractor who just also happens to be a licensed engineer.

First off, your plan is deeply flawed. From both a working point of view, as well as a safety point of view.

Your proposed method will not likely bring the house down. If it does bring the house down, it will almost definitely be in contact with your new house when it does come down.

In all likelyhood, the unstable structure left when you start pulling out walls will fall AWAY from the damaged area. This is because the rigid roof structure will drop on the compromised side, leaving an unstable triangle, this will usually cause the remaining wall to fall outwards because of the weight of the roof left sitting on it.

During this whole process, you will be working on and near a very dangerous and unstable structure.

Aside from all that, the big expenses in demolition are always disposal and labour, if you are in an area where buring of the wood is possible, and you have a area where you can bury the CLEAN rubble and non-biodegradeable parts, and are able to offer some equipment and/or labour you will likely save just as much in the long run.

You will also get someone elses liability insurance!!!

Note: If you do something like this yourself, you will in all likelyhood have your insurance company deny you coverage if something goes wrong.

Best of luck. ....

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Billy
Join Date: Oct 1999
Posts: 975 Southeast Oklahoma
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2007-05-23          142395

What I'd do is sell/give away the house to be moved. If it's livable and I'm assuming it is since you are living it it? That part wasn't real clear so excuse me if I assumed wrong.

Anyway, if it's worth moving, it won't cost you anything. ....

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hardwood
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 3583 iowa
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2007-05-23          142396

Pitt; Believe every word Murf said, I'm far from an engeneer, but got in on basicly an identical situation like 30 years ago. a neighbor did the same as you, built the new one, then called the neighbors in. He had a long cable, strung it thru windows and doorways to the oposite side of the house. His intent was to slide it off the foundation. I had a brsnd new 1070 Case farm tractor, another neighbor had a new 1066 Farmall, him on one end of the cable me on the other, the house owner said snug up the cable, dump the clutch and don't look back. Then just as Murf said "OH S--T), now what do we do? Just don't do it. Used to be a resturant in Pine Island that had the best Belgan waffles ever made, we used to stop there on the way home from fishing. Frank. ....

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kthompson
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 5275 South Carolina
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2007-05-23          142399

Pitt, I believe you will find Murf is correct. Depending on what the house is built from and if moving it is not an option, you may find someone willing to tear it down for the lumber in it. Recycled lumber is really in and to me high price. kt ....

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earthwrks
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 3853 Home Office in Flat Rock, Michigan
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2007-05-23          142402

Just rent an excavator with a thumb for less than a grand a day and have at it. If ypou're good enough with it you can strip salvagable materials from it and put them in piles---and load dumpsters too. And Murf is right about the labor (labour, eh) and disposal. The homes I have torn down by myself using only a big bobcat with a grapple bucket create sooooo much debris is amazing. A fully-furnished home can end up taking nearly the same cubic feet when crushed. An empty home takes about half the existing cubic footage when demolished. ....

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pitt_md
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 32 Pine Island, MN USA
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2007-05-24          142409

Thanks for the advice. The excavator for the new house will tear the old house down and put it in two piles, burnable and nonburnable and back fill the hole for two grand so I think I will avoid the possible trouble (not to mention a divorce) and let this guy do it. ....

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earthwrks
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 3853 Home Office in Flat Rock, Michigan
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2007-05-24          142437

You say "fill in the hole". How big is this hole? A basement? If yes, there are codes in most areas that dictate if you have to remove the basement walls fully or collapse them at least 48" below grade (around here anyway).

Backfilling include fill dirt too? That can really add up too depending where you live (read: several thousand $).

Does your excavator have general liability insurance AND specifically demolition coverage? Just because he has "insurance" doesn't mean he (read: you) are covered. I carry 2.3 million in coverage and I'm only a one-man- show. If I were to "step foot" on the county's international airport to do any kind of work, I would need a minimum of 5.3 million.

Something to think about: I pulled a permit to demolish a one-story home with an attached garage. The permit office didn't their job and wrongly assumed the gas had been cut. I found out quickly that the gas was still on! I had the gas co. come out. They didn't turn it off at the main like they were suppose to. Instead they turned it off at the meter which was held up by a few remaining wall boards, and took the meter and put a plastic cap on the line. These dummies tell me "work around it". I did, and nothing happened. BUT two weeks AFTER the house was torn down I drove by and saw the gas company there again this time with a backhoe there to remove the line and disconnect it from the 12" main. As I watched them, they pulled the copper line from the main! That wasn't too bad, they plugged it and no big deal. Two weeks after that I get a bill for $435 for "damaging their meter". Man, I fought that tooth-and-nail! Long story short, the gas company attorney got involved and I told them what happened. He said "forget about it. Case closed". The workers were too lazy to do the job to begin with BEFORE I demoed the house so they had to cover their butts. ....

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