A.
Before starting demolition, all glass in exterior openings shall
be removed. All gas, electric, water, steam and other supply lines
shall be shut off and capped. In each case the service company involved
shall be notified in advance. All sewer connections shall be sealed
off in a manner satisfactory to the authority responsible for sewers.
B.
Where it is necessary to maintain any power, water, gas or electric
lines during demolition, such lines shall be so relocated or protected
with substantial coverings as to protect them from injury and to afford
safety to the workmen and the public.
C.
Before demolition is started, the cellar shall be thoroughly cleaned
of combustible material and all fixtures and equipment which would
cause voids in the fill removed. If the cellar is to be filled to
grade, the existing cellar floor shall be broken up to provide ground
drainage and prevent accumulation of water. If the cellar is not to
be filled, adequate drainage shall be provided.
A.
Before doing any demolition work which may affect the safety or stability
of any adjacent structure, the demolition contractor shall make a
through examination of all such structures and shall note all existing
conditions. During the demolition, frequent reexaminations shall be
made by the demolition contractor, and every precaution shall be taken
to prevent any movement, settlement or weakening of any adjacent structure.
B.
Where there is reason to believe that an adjacent structure is unsafe
or will become unsafe because of demolition operations, no demolition
shall be performed until adequate precautions have been taken to ensure
the stability of the adjacent structure.
C.
All beams in party walls shall be cut off close to the walls and
stub ends removed without weakening masonry and beam pockets cleaned
of loose mortar and bricked up and bonded into the wall with sound
brick and cement mortar. Roofing material of adjoining buildings at
party walls shall be bent over and flashed. All door or other openings
in party walls shall be adequately sealed. Cornices, where cut, shall
be properly sealed. Parapet and front and rear walls, where disturbed,
shall be pointed up and made weathertight. All exposed furring, lath
and plaster on party walls shall be removed. Roofs, skylights and
flues of adjoining buildings shall be protected from damage from demolition
by the demolition contractor, provided that he is granted the necessary
license to enter the adjoining premises for that purpose.
D.
The cost of refinishing a common wall or party wall shall be taken into account by the owner of a building which is to be demolished, and after demolition of a building with a common wall, whether brick or frame, the remaining wall shall be finished off in a workmanlike manner and shall be subject to the approval of the Code Compliance Supervisor. Specifically, but in no way limiting the generality of the above with respect to approval which must be received by the Code Compliance Supervisor, brick walls shall be finished as called for in Subsection C above, and, in addition thereto, said remaining portion of the common wall shall be finished off with one-half-inch stucco or any other sealer acceptable to the Code Compliance Supervisor and painted as close as possible to the wood trim. Also, without limiting the generality above, in the event that the common wall is frame, the remaining portion of said frame wall shall be re-sided as close as possible to the rest of the building and, if required, painted to match the rest of the wood trim. Flashing shall also be installed on the roof and wherever else required by the Code Compliance Supervisor.
[Added 9-27-1971]
A.
Demolition of walls and partitions shall proceed in a systematic
manner, and all work above each tier of floor beams shall be completed
before the safety of its supports is impaired. Masonry shall neither
be loosened nor permitted to fall in such masses as to endanger the
structural stability of any floor or structural support. No wall,
chimney or other structure or part of a structure shall be left unguarded
in such condition that it may fall, collapse or weaken due to wind
pressure, rain, snow or vibration.
B.
No employer shall suffer or permit any employee to work on top of
a wall. In the demolition by hand of exterior walls, safe footing
for the workman shall be provided in the form of sound flooring or
scaffolds. Walls or portions which are to be demolished by hand shall
not be left standing more than one story high above the uppermost
floor on which men are working. Such walls or portions shall be removed
before the aggregate area of openings in such floor exceeds 25% of
the total area.
Windows and other exterior wall openings in buildings more than
25 feet in height which are within 20 feet of any floor opening used
to remove debris from floors above shall be solidly boarded up during
demolition operations.
Debris, bricks and other material shall be removed by means
of chutes, by means of buckets or hoists or through openings in the
floors of the building.
There shall be provided at all times safe access to and egress
from every building in the course of demolition by means of entrances,
hallways, stairways or ladder runs so protected as to safeguard the
persons using them from falling material.
Every floor area within the building that is subject to the
hazard of material falling from above shall be boarded up to prevent
passage or shall be fenced off by a substantial rail placed not less
than 20 feet from the floor opening or shall be provided with overhead
protection in the form of tight planking to eliminate such hazard.
All steel construction shall be demolished column length by
column length and tier by tier. Every structural member which is being
removed shall be chained or lashed in place to prevent any uncontrolled
swinging or dropping. Large structural members shall not be thrown
or dropped from the building but shall be carefully lowered. Where
a derrick is used in the demolition of buildings of skeleton steel
construction, the floor on which the derrick rests shall be completely
planked over. Where other methods are used, the workmen engaged in
the dismantling of steel shall be protected by solidly planked flooring
or sound floor arches not more than two stories below and directly
under that portion of any tier of beams where such men are at work.
Before demolishing any floor arch, debris and other material
shall be removed from such arch and other adjacent floor area. Planks
not less than two inches by nine inches in cross section, full size
undressed, shall be provided for and shall be used by the workmen
to stand on while breaking down floor arches between beams. Such planks
shall be so located as to provide a safe support for the workmen should
the arch between the beams collapse. The open space between planks
shall not exceed 16 inches.
A.
The aggregate area of openings in the floor immediately beneath the
floor being demolished shall not exceed 25% of the total area of such
floor.
B.
Every opening used for the removal of debris on every floor which
is not closed to access, except the top or working floor, shall be
provided with an enclosure from floor to ceiling equivalent to that
afforded by planking not less than two inches in thickness, full size
undressed. The enclosure shall be solid except for portions operable
for loosening blocked debris. Alternatively, the opening shall be
so barricaded that no person shall have access to within a horizontal
distance of 20 feet from any opening above through which debris is
being dropped. Every opening not used for the removal of debris in
any floor to which access is permitted shall be protected by a solid
enclosure or by a safety railing and toeboard or shall be solidly
planked over.
C.
Openings in the top or working floor more than 16 inches in least
dimension shall be protected on all sides, except the side at which
debris is deposited, by a safety railing and toeboard, or the sides
of the opening shall be roped off at a distance of not less than two
feet from the edge of the opening by not less than one-half-inch-diameter
rope securely tied to provide a guard of a height equivalent to that
provided by the safety railing. That portion of any floor opening
adjacent to and immediately below a point where men are employed in
any work on a wall shall be provided with a solid flooring not less
than five feet wide measured from the inside face of the wall.
A.
Material shall not be stored on working platforms, floors or stairways
of the building being demolished, except that the floor of a building
may be used for the temporary storage of material when such floor
is of such strength as to support safely the load to be superimposed.
B.
Storage spaces shall not interfere with access to any stairway or
passageway, and suitable barricades shall be provided so as to prevent
material from sliding or rebounding into any space used by the workmen
or the public.
C.
All material shall be safely piled in such locations as will not
interfere with any operations nor present a hazard to those at or
frequenting the demolition site. When debris is piled in the cellar,
it shall not be piled above the top of the foundation wall.
D.
The person in charge of demolition operations shall provide such
means as may be necessary to ensure the stability of the foundation
walls and to prevent any wall from collapsing due to the pressure
of the accumulated material.
No employer shall suffer or permit an employee working above
the first floor level to use accumulated debris or piled material
as a footing for the performance of his work. Every employee shall
be provided with safe footing in the form of sound planking or flooring.
A.
Along every sidewalk or thoroughfare bordering demolition operations,
there shall be erected a substantial barricade to prevent unauthorized
persons from entering the site of such operations.
B.
Such barricade shall be a fence not less than six feet in height.
It shall be built solid for its entire height and length, except for
such openings provided with solid doors as may be necessary for the
proper prosecution of the work. Where the distance from the face of
the building to be demolished to the inside edge of a sidewalk or
thoroughfare is more than 1/2 the height of the building and the height
of the building is not more than 25 feet, a substantial railing not
less than 36 inches high and provided with an intermediate rail may
be constructed at the inside edge of such sidewalk or thoroughfare
in lieu of a solid barricade or sidewalk, shed.
A.
When the structure to be demolished is more than 25 feet above adjacent
grade and where the horizontal distance from the structure to the
inside edge of a sidewalk or other public way is barred or closed
to the public or is more than 40 feet from the building or structure
which is to be demolished, regardless of the height of the building,
whenever any material or debris is moved or swung by means of a derrick,
hoist, chute or similar device over any sidewalk or public way which
is not barred or closed to the public, a sidewalk shed shall be erected
over such sidewalk or public way.
B.
The deck of every sidewalk shed shall be constructed to sustain a
live load of at least 150 pounds per square foot, and if materials
are to be stored thereon, it shall be constructed to sustain a load
of not less than 300 pounds per square foot.
C.
The sidewalk shed shall be so erected as to provide a clear ceiling
height of not less than eight feet above the walkway surface, and
the clear width of the passageway through the shed shall be not less
than 10 feet. The outside edge and the ends of the deck of every sidewalk
shed shall be provided with a substantial enclosure at least 42 inches
in height, consisting of boards laid close or of screen formed of
not less than No. 16 gauge steel wire with one-and-one-half-inch mesh
or of corrugated metal or plywood.
D.
The deck of the sidewalk shed shall be watertight and of plank not
less than two inches thick. The side of the shed toward the structure
to be demolished shall be solidly fenced for the full height of the
sidewalk shed. Solid sliding or swinging gates may be provided for
the movement of men and materials. Steel or other materials of equivalent
strength and suitability may be used in lieu of wood in the construction
of a sidewalk shed.
E.
Sidewalk sheds shall be provided with light equivalent to a one-hundred-watt
electric light bulb every 40 feet along the passageway.
A.
Wooden or metal chutes provided for the removal of material and which
are at an angle of more than 45° with the horizontal shall be
entirely enclosed on all sides, including the upper side, except openings
used for receiving or discharging of material. Such openings shall
not exceed 48 inches in height, measured along the wall of the chute,
and all openings, except the top opening, shall be closed when not
in use. Chutes at an angle of 45° or less with the horizontal
may be open on the upper side.
B.
Every chute more than 24 inches in maximum inside dimension shall
be constructed of not less than two-inch planking or of not less than
three-sixteenths-inch sheet metal. It shall have a metal bottom where
the material strikes the chute and shall be rigidly supported throughout
its height. A strong gate shall be constructed at the lower end of
every loading chute to control the loading of material into trucks
and to close the chute at all other times. Splashboards or baffles
shall be erected to prevent materials from rebounding into the street
or under the sidewalk shed. A bumper or curb not less than four inches
by four inches in section shall be provided at each chute opening
where such opening is level with or below the floor or platform. Every
space between the chute and the edge of the opening in the floor or
platform shall be solidly planked.
C.
"Danger" signs shall be placed in a conspicuous position at the discharge
end of every chute to warn the workmen and public.
A.
All runways and ramps shall be substantially constructed and securely
braced and supported. Runways and ramps for the use of motortrucks
or heavier vehicles shall have a width of not less than eight inches
by eight inches placed parallel to and secured to the sides of the
runway or ramp.
B.
The flooring shall be of not less than three-inch planking, full
size undressed.
C.
Runways and ramps for the use of workmen shall be not less than 18
inches in width and shall be constructed of not less than two-inch
full size undressed planking, substantially supported and braced to
prevent excessive spring or deflecting.
D.
Planking shall be laid close and shall be butt-jointed and securely
nailed. Horizontal runways for the use of workmen and located more
than 10 feet above the floor or ground shall be provided on the open
sides with a safety railing. Runways used for wheelbarrows, handcarts
or hand trucks shall be not less than 36 inches in width. Ramps shall
have a slope not exceeding one in four, and the total rise of a continuous
ramp used by men carrying material or using wheelbarrows shall not
exceed 12 feet, unless broken by horizontal landings at least four
feet in length.
E.
If the slope is steeper than one in eight, the ramp shall be provided
with cleats spaced not more than 14 inches apart and securely fastened
to the planking to afford a foothold. Spaces in the cleats may be
provided for the passages of the wheels of the vehicles.
F.
Ramps which are located at or extend to a height of more than four
feet above the adjacent ground or floor level shall be provided with
a safety railing on their open sides.
A.
Platforms used as working areas or for the unloading of wheelbarrows,
hand trucks or carts shall have a floor of not less than two-inch
planking. Platforms used for motortrucks shall have a floor of not
less than three-inch planking.
B.
Every platform more than 10 feet above the ground or above a floor
shall be provided with a safety railing, except that the sides of
a platform used for the loading or unloading of vehicles may be protected
only by a timber curb not less than eight inches by eight inches for
motortrucks or heavier vehicles or four inches by four inches for
wheelbarrows and hand trucks.
A safety railing shall consist of a two-inch-by-four-inch wooden
handrail not less than 36 inches nor more than 42 inches above the
walking level, securely supported by two-by-four-inch posts at intervals
of not more than eight feet and shall include a one-by-four-inch midrail
and a toeboard at least four inches high. The handrail shall be smooth
and free from splinters or protruding nails. Other material or construction
may be used, provided that the assembly assures equivalent safety.
No debris shall be burned at the site unless permits therefor
are obtained from the Fire Department. A one-and-one-half-inch fire
hose, equipped with a control nozzle, shall be connected to a reliable
water supply, and the water pressure shall be on the hose line and
the hose laid to reach the location of the fire, wherever a fire is
burning.
A.
Compressed gas cylinders shall be stored in an upright position,
away from open flames and other sources of heat and so arranged or
placed that they will not be knocked over or damaged by passing or
falling objects.
B.
During use, cylinders shall be securely lashed to a stationary object
unless other suitable provision has been made to prevent their upsetting.
During use, every cylinder shall have the valve key or wrench set
in place on the valve spindle. All cylinders shall be used in an upright
position.
C.
Cylinders containing oxygen shall not be stored so near to cylinders
containing combustible gas or to combustible material, oil or grease
as to create a spontaneous combustion hazard.
D.
Cylinder valves shall be closed at all times when not in use. Regulators
or reducing valves shall be tightly connected with a gastight connection.
Gas or oxygen cylinders shall not be used unless equipped with the
proper regulator or automatic reducing valve. All valves shall be
opened by hand.
E.
Empty cylinders shall be immediately removed from working areas and
stored in a designated location. The valves shall be closed and a
tag or sign indicating that the tank is empty shall be attached.
F.
The use of cylinders as rollers, props or supports is forbidden.
G.
All gas-carrying hose shall be first quality and of a type manufactured
for use on construction jobs. Oxygen hose shall have fittings of a
different design and shall be of a different color from the hose used
for the fuel-gas connections. Hose connections shall be of either
the ferrule or clamp type, and the hose shall be capable of withstanding,
without leakage, a pressure equal to at least twice the maximum delivery
pressure of the pressure regulators provided on the system, but not
less than 300 pounds per square inch.
H.
Hose shall be protected from damage by trucks or other moving objects
and shall be so placed as not to constitute a falling or tripping
hazard. All hose or connections shall be immediately repaired or replaced.
I.
Torches shall be lighted by means of friction lighters only. When
torches are changed or when the cutting is stopped longer than five
minutes, all cylinder valves shall be closed. Momentary stoppage of
the cutting torch may be controlled at the torch valves.
J.
All persons engaged in cutting operations shall be supplied with
proper scaffolds and shall be supplied with and use approved eye-protection
equipment having goggles provided with filter lenses of suitable shade.
Such lenses and goggles shall protect the eyes of the worker not only
from the heat and glare of the work but also from particles of hot
metal which may fly during the operation. Operators engaged in continuous
operations shall be supplied and shall wear fire-resistant gauntlet
gloves and aprons.
K.
Oily and greasy substances shall be kept from the cylinders, hoses
and torches. Cylinder valves and connections shall not be lubricated.
L.
Where there is a hazard to other workmen from flying particles of
metal, there shall be provided proper screening around the cutting
area. Whenever cutting operations are performed and there is in the
vicinity any combustible, there shall be provided a fire watcher,
equipped with a water hose, whose sole duty is to watch for and extinguish
any fires that might start.
M.
Before any flame cutting is done on any tank or container that contained
material which may generate flammable vapor upon application of heat,
all pipes connected thereto shall be disconnected or blanked off.
Residual flammable material shall be removed, and the tank shall be
completely purged with a suitable purging agent.
Electrical and pneumatic tools shall be disconnected from the
source of power and the pressure in hose lines shall be released before
any adjustments or repairs are made, except replacement of bits in
electric drills. The air shall be shut off before disconnecting the
air hose. Electric lines and hose lines shall be guarded by location
or covering to prevent severe abrasion. Electrically operated tools
shall be grounded during use. The ground wire shall be connected to
the frame of the machine, and the other end shall be properly grounded.
The use of a swinging weight, clamshell bucket, power shovel,
bulldozer or other mechanical contrivance for the purpose of demolishing
walls shall be in accordance with the following requirements:
A.
The building or structure or remaining portion thereof shall be not
more than 80 feet in height.
B.
Where a swinging weight is used, a zone of demolition at least 1 1/2
times the height of the structure or portion thereof being so demolished
shall be maintained around the points of impact.
C.
Where a clamshell bucket is used, a zone of demolition shall be maintained
within 25 feet of the line of travel of the bucket.
D.
Where mechanical contrivances other than a swinging weight or clamshell
bucket are used to effectuate total or partial collapse, there shall
be maintained in the area into which the affected portion may fall
a zone of demolition at least 1 1/2 times the height of the structure
or remaining portion thereof.
E.
No person other than workmen essential to the operation of the equipment
shall be suffered or permitted to enter a zone of demolition.
F.
Substantial barricades shall be erected wherever there is likelihood
of persons other than essential workmen entering the zone of demolition.
G.
The controls of mechanical devices used in such method of demolition
shall be located and operated at a safe and reasonable distance from
the point of demolition.
H.
Where a swinging weight is used, the supporting cables shall be of
such length or shall be so restrained that it is not possible for
the weight to swing against any structure other than the structure
being demolished.
Chutes, floors, stairways and all other places affected shall
be sprinkled with water sufficiently to keep down the dust.
During demolition, the municipality shall have the right to
inspect the work to detect any hazards to workmen or to the public
resulting from weakened or deteriorated floors or walls or loosened
material. No employee shall be suffered or permitted to work where
such hazards exist. They shall be corrected by shoring, bracing or
other effective means.
A.
After a building has been demolished, the entire site of such building
shall be cleared of any and all debris or waste materials, and all
basements, all cellars and all other holes or openings in or on the
site shall be properly filled up to the ground level with earth, stone,
masonry or other similar sanitary and incombustible materials. All
grading shall be so sloped that all water falling on the site will
not flow over any adjoining property.
B.
However, upon the presentation of definite proof that construction
operations for the erection of a new building will be commenced on
the site within two months after the demolition has been completed,
then the filling of basement, cellars and other holes will not be
necessary, provided that a substantial barricade is erected enclosing
the entire site.
