Knocking Down Walls And Kicking Up Floors: Where Does It Go After That?
Posted on: 25 September 2017
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Knocking down concrete walls and pulling up concrete floors is all in a day's work for concrete contractors. However, the concrete that is pulled up or smashed down has to go somewhere after that. Sometimes, some contractors salvage it. That is correct; it becomes concrete salvage! What happens to it next is something amazing.
Stacked Slabs Ready for Reuse
If a decent job has been done on cutting a concrete floor from an industrial or manufacturing site, and the slabs are fairly uniform, the slabs are stacked against a wall in a concrete salvage or construction recycling site. These slabs are already pre-poured, stain-free, and reinforced with rebar or steel grids. They can be reused in lots of other construction sites as well as quickly finishing a driveway or parking lot. Typically, these lots are closed to the public, but there are a few that will allow the public to pay for the slabs and reuse them on residential projects.
Cinder Block Walls
Cinder blocks are very easy to reuse. All of the ones that are salvaged from demolition sites are saved and set aside if they are whole and complete. Some of them may even be used to construct the walls of the new building that will be erected on the old site, thus preserving a little bit of the old building's history in the process.
Stained and Acid-Washed Concrete Floors
Old banks or stores that are demolished frequently have very decorative concrete floors. Since it is quite a pity to waste these beautiful floors, they are carefully cut free and moved offsite so that the demolition crew can do its job. If you are interested in acquiring any part of these decorative floors, contact the contractor that removed them to find out where the slabs of these floors has been relocated to.
Floors Become Walls
Floors that have especially decorative features can become concrete walls. The slabs of floor that are salvaged are brought into the construction site via a crane, erected vertically and installed carefully to create walls. The process is a dangerous one, but with extremely satisfying and beautiful results. For companies that really want to take pride in "going green," this approach to reusing salvaged decorative concrete is really ideal.
Recycled Gravel and Concrete Mix
Concrete from old buildings is frequently salvaged and sent to concrete production factories. Here, giant grinders crush the concrete down, remove any rebar or metal from the concrete, and continue to process the concrete into aggregate or powder for new concrete. This can be done with most concrete, so long as it does not contain lead paint chips or other potentially harmful materials. The walls of the old paper mill down the street can quickly find new life in bags of concrete for your driveway.
Aggregate from Salvaged Concrete Becomes Flood Protection
If the salvaged concrete is crushed into aggregate, it may be used as flood protection. Cities buy up this stuff in bulk to layer along the banks of rivers and streams to prevent erosion and flooding. As the waters rise, the aggregate holds in place. Bags of aggregate instead of sand may also be used because the sand eventually gets wet and may slip away. The aggregate does not.
Want to Know More? Contact Your City Dump
City dumps provide places for construction companies to deposit the concrete salvage that is not usually reusable. However, they know where the nearest concrete salvage yards are too. If you want to know more about this trend in the concrete business, call your city dump and ask them. They can help.
For more information, contact companies like Alliance Demolition Services Inc.