Floor Sawing and Cutting
Floor sawing and cutting or ’slab sawing’ is an efficient method used to cut info flat surfaces such as roads. Concrete floor diamond cutting machinery can saw over half a meter deep depending on the saw used. Slab sawing eliminates the need for the use of noisy jack hammering equipment. Applications include road and motorway maintenance work such as expansion joints, whether concrete or asphalt, floor slabs, pavements and bridge repair work. Reinforced concrete can also be cut successfully. A self propelled sawing unit usually powered by diesel engine can be used outdoors or a three phase electrically powered unit can be used in restricted areas such as warehouses containing food. Another advantage of slab sawing a flat surface as opposed to jack hammering, is the reduction in the amount of dust generated, allowing easier clean up and removal of the site.
Concrete Floor Grinding
Diamond floor grinding machines can be used to level uneven floor surfaces by eliminating high spots. If left in situ, these high spots may become hazards and could require costly removal at a later stage.
Selective Demolition
Buildings and structures can entirely or partially demolished using various cutting and drilling techniques, without risking damage to surrounding buildings and structures.
Hydraulic Crunching
Hydraulic Crunching is a method used for heavy demolition tasks converting concrete into waste rubble. Hydraulic crunching has revolutionised the way many demolitions are performed, in many cases it has replaced the noisier and potentially damaging jack hammer. The jaws of the machine are applied to an edge of the concrete structure which can be up to 310 mm thick. Hydraulic power is used to close the jaws and literally crush the structure, this is repeated until the whole structure has been destroyed. This is a non percussive technique and as such generates little noise, vibration or dust. Water is not required for dust control. Hydraulic crunching can be used internally or externally and can remove the concrete leaving the reinforcing material to allow remedial work to be performed.
Hydraulic crunching is also used to make economies when disposing of waste material such as concrete and masonry created during the construction process. After material has been cut out using various saws and drills it is often in large chunks, these take up significant amounts of space quickly filling up skips or tipper trucks.
Expanding Grouts
Expanding grouts can be deployed to enable reinforced concrete, rock or stone structure to be blasted and cracked without using special equipment. The process uses chemical powder that can be mixed with water and packed into pre drilled 40 mm holes in the target structure. The grout can therefore be used very accurately to emit a localised cracking pressure within the structure. This method of performing a concrete demolition is quiet and generates little dust.
Anchor Fixing
Rotary percussion techniques are employed to perform anchor fixing. Horizontal or vertical diamond drilling into reinforced concrete, masonry blocks or walls slabs facilitates the fixing of plates, expanding anchor bolts, metal cleats or cladding panels.
Demolition
In larger demolition projects such as bridges, foundations or pavements, boom mounted or hand held pneumatic or hydraulic breakers can be utilised. Concrete strength, hammer size and the quantity of steel reinforcements along with working conditions are factors to be considered when performing such a demolition. To reduce the demolition’s impact on the surrounding environment segments of concrete can be safely removed by crane, keeping noise and dust levels to a minimum.
