Selective Demolition in Medical School Building

R. Baker & Son was contracted by a construction management firm to provide selective demolition at a large six-story medical school building in the Philadelphia area. Interior demolition of drywall, studs, and drop ceilings were performed by the CM, and the Baker team was handed the more challenging demolition and rigging tasks such as removal of large equipment from mechanical rooms and other areas throughout the building. 

Space was at an absolute premium as various new equipment was being brought in while our work proceeded. Normal building activities continued in other parts of the building during the project, so demolition had to be carried out with little disruption to daily operation. Congested city streets meant that cranes could only be operated on weekends. 

The largest areas of selective demolition assigned to R. Baker were first-floor laboratories, basement morgue, walk-in boxes, and penthouse mechanical room. Crew members began with the recovery of all refrigerants and the removal of condensers and evaporators. Two demo crews were assigned to the penthouse mechanical room to remove two 40,000 CFM air handling units with associated exhaust fans, two 1,500 GPD reverse osmosis systems, three motor control centers, a steam boiler, and a deaerator, three hot water boilers, and chemical treatment and water softening system. 

All demoed materials were dismantled, disassembled, and cut down into pieces small enough to allow removal through 8’ x 8’ openings in the lower level and penthouse. Demolition debris was neatly bundled and staged in corridors using electric emission-free forklifts to await removal by a 130-ton crane on weekends when street traffic was light. Demolition debris was rigged onto waiting flatbed trucks, lowboys, and dumpster trucks. 

Cleanup following the completion of selective demolition was extensive. Much of the equipment that R. Baker & Son removed had been rendered nonoperational during previous renovations but never removed due to the difficult logistics required to remove it from the building. All concrete housekeeping pads were removed as well as miscellaneous steel and ductwork that no longer served a purpose. 

About R. Baker & Son All Industrial Services

R. Baker & Son All Industrial Services, a Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE), in business since 1935, is a premier specialized contractor operating in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, with over one hundred employees and an exemplary safety record (we have been directly involved in four sites that received VPP OSHA Safety Awards). R. Baker & Son is financially strong, with bonding capabilities of over $10 million. Capabilities include industrial and commercial demolition, rigging, machinery- and plant-moving, dismantling, decommissioning, plant and equipment relocation, interior demolition, selective demolition, warehousing, wrecking and razing, millwright, plant reconfigurations, heavy rigging, salvage, environmental services, remediation, decontamination, abatement, and investment and asset recovery.

R. Baker & Son - All Industrial Services
190 Boundary Road
Marlboro, NJ 07746
732-222-3553

https://rbaker.com/