DEMOLITION -- Am I CRAZY to do this??

[VeRV77]

I have a piece of property I'm cleaning up and it has an old freestanding shed that needs demolishing (see photo). The lower joists and vertical members have rot, and it looks as if it could fall any moment.

How do I do this without killing myself?? Cutting or knocking out any structural members while standing anywhere near the shed seems like a REALLY bad idea. Use of fire is out of the question. A local contractor wanted thousands to do the demo for me, so I'm not going that route either.

MY PLAN SO FAR: Loop a cable through the vertical studs on one side of the shed, near ground level. Run cable through a heavy-duty pulley that is strapped to a large adjacent tree (maybe 20-30 feet away). Attach other end of cable to my tractor and slowly drive forward. The idea is that if the cable snaps from its attachment (either on the tractor or, more likely, on the shed), it will fly toward the pulley/tree and not toward the back of my head. If half the shed is still standing, repeat process on other side. Once it's fully collapsed, Sawzall and sledgehammer for the rest.

I'm not sure how thick a cable I need, but I know I want a significant safety factor. Not even sure this is a good idea. Anybody have any experience with this? Suggestions appreciated.

 

[Thomas]

If I...I would wrap cable/chain just below bottom shingle line and put to leaning side w/tractor from safe distance.
Good chance shed will break apart easier to attack clean up.

 

[RNeumann]

Pulling it down is only about 10% of the task. It's like falling a tree. The cleanup is what takes the time and effort.

The typical would be a systematic disassembly. Knock the siding off from the inside first. Then the framing should de easy enough to just push over. If you try to push it over with the siding still attached it will be more difficult to push over and more difficult to clean up. From there, cut the studs to a reasonable working length and dispose.

The sheeting is proving the sheer or stability for the structure. So once it's removed it will be easy to push over.

 

[Stimw]

Looks repairable to me from what I can see. ??

 

[rustyshakelford]

Light it on fire. It'll do the work for you.

Brett

 

[oosik]

I think the total cleanup package will be easier if you remove the wall sheathing first. After that, the structure should almost fall down all by itself.

 

[VeRV77]

I like the idea of removing the exterior sheathing - at least what I can remove safely. As RNeumann says, it's probably what's holding it up so I don't want to go too hard on it and then have it fall on me.

 

[SimS]

X2 on removing the sheathing. Clean up the existing junk on the ground around the shed first. Nothing worse than dropping new crap on top of old crap that has been laying on the ground for years. Good luck. Take progress pictures.

SimS

 

[PILOON]

Remove the front and back sheeting (and diagonal bracing) and then pull to the side.
With front and back gone it will fold easily to the side.
If you are lucky lots of side sheeting could simply pop off as it collapses.

 

[Egon]

Put a cable around it as high as you can get it & then drive away with the cable hooked to the tractor. Once on the ground break it up with the loader.