A very small fraction of building demolition projects involve the use of explosives. Furthermore, exploding and imploding are not accurate ways to describe the demolition of a building; it's more of a purposeful structural failure that happens causing a building to collapse and come down in a properly designed way on itself, a process that has been done for decades.  

If you think that a demolition company shows up and starts tearing a building down; that's not how it's done. Steps are carried out to clear the way for a demolition project including careful study of local regulations, asbestos abatement, ensuring the removal of hazardous materials, an examination of immediate surroundings, and clearances from utilities and roadways.

With smaller buildings, such as storage facilities, garages and houses that are only two or three stories high, the demolition challenges are somewhat simpler. The building can usually be taken down by manual or mechanical pulling using bigger hydraulic excavating equipment. Machines you may be more used to seeing such as  cranes, specialized excavators or bulldozers.

As we get into larger structures, the use of a wrecking ball, may be used to swing into the side of the buildings where you see masonry walls. While effective, they are very difficult to control and are not as efficient as some newer methods that are being used. These more recently developed methods can use rotational hydraulic shears (looking like a dragon's mouth), and silenced rock-breakers which are attached to excavators. ​

​There may come a time when you no longer want your fireplace.  Modernization of your room or stabilizing the heat in the room are a couple of reasons why you may no longer want it.  It may be as simple as wanting the room the hearth takes up.  Whatever the reason, here is a look at the procedure and the cost if a demolition company is doing the removal.

​There are a few parts to removing a fireplace.  The façade comes first, which usually consists of removing brick facing.  The façade is built against the structural walls (framing), but can also form part of the structural, so care needs to be taken where bricks meet structure.  They may be mounted on studs, and then continued on to ceiling/roof.  A small bridge may need to be installed for safe and, at the same time, it is important to keep the wall integrity for refinishing.  This can take about a day of brick by brick removal  with cold chisels and a power demo hammer. The bricks or stones will require removal and disposal. Another part to the removal may involve the removal of the flu opening, a steel or iron plate and handle. If recessed it’s best to keep it for trapping air.  The cost so far is about $1800.  At this point the decision to seal the chimney at the top is made and may add additional cost to the project.