Demolishing a (dilapidated) garage

[Cheap5.0]

I have been looking into how to tear down my 30x30 stick built garage (its rotted, pretty bad...I built a pole barn to replace it).

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=167280

That thread has some great ideas. Other threads and sites all seem to recommend the same methods which is either get a machine to assist in tearing it down and loading it into a dumpster or apply the reverse operation of building it (tear off shingles, sheathing, take down trusses, cut things up to neatly fit into the dumpster...)

The problem I have is the roof is caving in in spots and the attic floor is pretty soft and probably dangerous to walk on let along demo on.

Is there still a way to safely tear this down by hand?

 

[ozyborn]

scaffolding. A friend and I use that to help tear down and reclaim old barns

 

[bob15]

Can you have the fire department do a controlled burn on it?

 

[captain14]

Take your truck, attach chain or rope to garage and truck and pull if done.

 

[bczygan]

Take your truck, attach chain or rope to garage and truck and pull if done.

This!

Or put an ad on CL for free wood.

 

[SilverSS1969]

Yep, Id wrap a tow strap around a stud, beam, header as high as you can and pull it with a truck or tractor. Then you can dismantle or dispose of it the way you want with out worries about falling thru the floor or roof.

I wouldn't use chains. I don't trust chains. Seen a few go thru windshield and killed people while off-roading. Especially if you are unsure on the quality of the wood you have it wrapped around. If the wood decided to break, you have the mass of the chain coming back at you.

 

[lostmind]

Locate the header over the doorway. Cut a hole through the siding at the header. Install a long chain around the header. Hook the chain to a vehicle , truck ,tractor.
Put tension on the chain.
Use a chain saw to cut through each corner of the building at the lowest point, starting at the end with the chain , ending at the opposite end . Accelerate , should be down now.
Disassemble or burn.
Done

 

[srmofo]

I cut a hole in the roof and top of the wall. Wrapped a chain around the top plate and then pulled it down with my truck. Once down I cut it into 10x10 pieces with an older circular saw and loaded it onto a trailer. I burned the entire thing in my buddies fire pit.

I also cut most of the support studs before pulling. I have pics somewhere that I'll post when I find them

 

[ND80]

Take your truck, attach chain or rope to garage and truck and pull if done.

You have watched to many truck commercials...

 

[volleyball]

Attach dynamite to each of the posts and run to a sequencer to have it implode.

 

[NUTTSGT]

The first thing I would do if there is any, remove the windows before they get broke and you have to clean up a bunch of glass.

 

[reader2580]

I demolished a dilapidated garage in 2001. It was so bad that you could see the sky from inside the garage.

I removed the garage doors before demolishing the garage. The doors did not have torsion springs. The garage was so bad my father and I simply attached a rope to it and pulled it over. It came down way easier than we thought and we almost got hurt because we expected to have more time to get out of the way.

I don't recall how we took care of getting rid of the siding and roof. The studs we stacked up and a friend of my father took them.

 

[PugetDude]

You have watched to many truck commercials...

It's a rotten building, not the Space Shuttle...

 

[GiantKiller]

I am doing my 24x14+8x10 structure right now, taking down from the top down. I have a small lot in the city and this is the best way for me. About 8 hours in and I have 4 short walls left.

AK