Step 3 – The Key Three

1. Refurbishment and Demolition Survey

A refurbishment and demolition survey needs to be undertaken when there are plans to upgrade, refurbish or demolish a whole or partial site. These surveys are designed to help determine, as accurately as possible, whether any asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) are present within the fabrics of the building.

No structural work should begin at the location or on stated equipment at the premises without the completion of this survey. As well as this, due to its intrusive nature, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) strongly recommends the use of a UK accredited asbestos surveying company.

Refurbishment surveys involve destructive inspection and may cause an asbestos disturbance. For example, during the survey, the surveyor will need to damage the fabric of the building, including the floors, ceilings and walls to identify the possible ACMs that may be hidden. Therefore, they must be undertaken whilst the building is unoccupied.

If asbestos materials are then identified, they may or may not be removed depending upon their conditions and whether that area has plans to be disturbed during the refurbishment works on site.

2. Service Isolations

Before demolition work begins, it’s important to ensure that gas, electricity, water and telecommunications services are isolated or disconnected. If this is not possible, pipes and cables must be labelled clearly, to make sure they are not disturbed.

Doing one of the above reduces the risk of potential delays to the project and is imperative to make sure there is optimum safety for all people on-site, including those using equipment, maintaining systems or working within proximity to ‘live’ services.

3. Site Segregation Hoarding in Different Forms

When completing this work, site hoardings are mandatory and should be used to protect construction workers and the public. To adhere to health and safety regulations, reduce risk and comply with insurance obligations, the right type of hoarding must be installed.

Timber hoardings are the classic hoarding system when needing long-term security for your construction site. It provides a positive effect on the environment due to it’s ethically sourced timber as well as the option of decoration with brand colours or vinyl signage, something which is very useful when displaying concept renderings of the finished project.

For projects that require long-term protection, steel hoardings offer many benefits. For example, the thin panels mean the steel is highly portable and comes with the possibility of lighting, signage and gating for pedestrians and vehicles.

When there is only a need for something temporary, hoardings with water-filled bases are the best option. They offer compatibility with gating units in compliance with construction site access guidelines and are easy to transport when empty, especially to sites which are hard to access with heavy or wide loads.

Asbestos removal and demolition of a building or structure requires careful consideration and should be carried out by a dedicated company like Weaver Demolition. We use totally independent United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) approved analysts to undertake air sampling and bulk sampling in full compliance with EN450001 to ensure that the work is carried out in a completely safe manner.

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