Office Demolition
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The building pictured here is not a
historic structure. It was built in the early 1960's by a private owner on
the foundation of the Historic Zoar Brewery/Zoar Dance Hall (1830), which had
been
destroyed by fire in 1959. The current ranch was built in violation of a
flowage easement established by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The
flowage easement stipulates that no structure for human habitation is allowed
below a specific elevation used to store flood water. This lake is
situated several miles downstream of the Bolivar Dam, and several miles upstream
of the Dover Dam. The dams are frequently manipulated to either hold or
release flood water, and our lake can be quickly flooded as a result.
Since 1969, this building has been under water three times, the latest being in
March 2008.
Our deadline for demolition had been
set for December 2006 so, beginning in September, volunteers began a process of
disassembling the interior of the building. All items that could be
salvaged or recycled were hauled away, including appliances, sinks, furnaces,
plumbing, scrap metal, wiring, and wall framing. The remaining scrap wood
was piled in the picnic shelter to be added to the burn pile. The center
and exterior of the house was made of cement blocks, which were also hauled away
to be reused by others. The only material that went to the landfill was
the wall plaster, some insulation, and misc. debris.
We were blessed to have the help of
volunteers who came to the lake when they could and demolished whatever needed
done on that day. Jeff and Darlene Dews, Bill and Fern Dews, Jim McWhorter, Sherrie
Baughman, Bill Stoetzer, Kris Hubbell (from Indiana), Pam Feagler, Lola Lewis,
and teams from the Zoar Volunteer Fire Department and Stark County Court of
Common Pleas managed to demolish the building in time to meet the Dec deadline.
A special thank you goes to Kraig Slutz of Kraiger Construction for the use of
his trailer to haul debris to the landfill; and to Terry Kahler for the use of
his dump truck to haul the bricks. We could not have completed this
project without their help.
These pictures tell the story of how
the building came down without heavy machines, demolition tools, or money.
A few friends working together for a common goal can always accomplish the
impossible. Thank you to everyone!
By November, we had moved out of the building, disconnected all utilities, and salvaged out the whole interior. The building to the right of the white downspout is to be removed down to the cement slab. The walls to the left of the downspout will be removed, but the roof will remain making the picnic shelter bigger. After we had removed most of the interior, the Zoar Fire Department spent several days in October tearing into ceilings to practice fire ventilation (without the fire) and tearing through walls for victim rescue techniques. Team members used a smoke machine at night to locate victims using their new thermal imaging unit. They also practiced climbing tall ladders at the back of the house and crawling through the small windows with full gear and air tanks. We were happy to offer our building for their training, and they were happy to help tear into the building. After the Fire Department had completed their training, the serious demolition began. Most of the interior framed walls had already been removed and we were busy knocking apart the cement block walls that had surrounded the furnace room. The plumbing and wiring could be removed for salvage as the brick walls came down The interior was made of the cheapest paneling and almost no insulation so this part of the demo did not take very long Jim McWhorter used a sledge hammer to break apart the brick walls. The "snow" is brick dust picked up by the camera. We did use dust masks during most of the demo due to the excessive brick dust and the presence of black mold that had resulted from previous flooding. This is our attempt to warn people of the hazardous conditions so they would not wander into the building after the demo had started. People did respect the warning and we had no incidents. The team from the Stark County Courts were eager and willing to take turns with the sledge hammer. These guys made short work of an impossible job. They also carried brick debris in buckets and a wheelbarrow out to the dump truck to be hauled away. This was the most tedius part of the job, and the most backbreaking. We literally had to toss the whole blocks one at a time into the truck. The buckets of debris were carried up a step ladder and dumped into the bed. Allison sorts through the debris to fill the 5-gallon bucket. This went on all day. The carpets had been removed and Jim is scraping up the deadly tack strips with a shovel. We had many opportunities to get snagged by nails, splintered by wood, and peppered with brick debris but the work did not stop. Darlene Dews helped carry slabs of drywall to piles at the front of the building. We staged the piles to be loaded onto the trailer headed for the landfill. Jeff Dews uses a sledgehammer to knock down the framing and drywall. He spent many hours on the demo and hauled away everything that was to be salvaged. The scrap wood was piled in the picnic shelter to keep it dry. All of this eventually went to the burn pile. Kris Hubbell travelled from Indiana over Thanksgiving weekend to help with the demo. We had four days of perfect weather so six of us spent the entire weekend doing most of the demo and cleanup. We had much to be thankful for...good friends, good work, good weather, good times...This was one of my more enjoyable holiday weekends. We can see the light at the end, or through, the project. Even though we were making great progress on the demo, I could not help but feel overwhelmed at the sheer disaster we faced when the ceiling came down. It looked so impossible to clean up, but again, with great friends helping it took no time at all. Who wouldn't feel sick at the sight of this mess...? We had filled the dump truck a second time with brick and now had the trailer from Kraiger Construction. We filled it three times with drywall and misc debris, each time it was hauled to the landfill and dumped as a contribution to this project. Again, using 5-gallon buckets and the wheelbarrow we carried all the debris to the trailer. Fern watches as her husband Bill knocks down the ceiling drywall from above. In just one day we had sorted the debris into managable piles and cleared out most of the floor area. Kris helped sort the debris into piles of insulation and piles of drywall, and carried wood debris out to the burn pile. Our challenge in doing the demo by hand with no motorized equipment was to keep the debris organized and moving out the door to other destinations, while still tearing apart the building. Bill Dews crawled over the ceiling framing pushing the drywall panels so they fell to the floor. He also removed all the wiring that was above the ceiling. Kris is still working to sort this mess into organized piles. She gave up her own family weekend to help, what an angel she is. We had removed enough drywall to expose the red brick of the front wall. To our amazement, the brick wall did not even meet the roof line and was only standing upright with the help of the wood frame. Three of us stood inside and literally pushed the entire wall down in several large chunks. I have no idea how this little building had remained standing for 40+ years. It had not been built to last. We also had to keep the roof from collapsing as we removed all the interior walls. The roof had only minimal support between it and the ceiling. As the ceiling framing was removed, the roof was in danger of collapsing before we wanted it to. Jim McWhorter placed 2x4 lumber on end throughout the building at key points of the ceiling to ensure the roof did not collapse on our heads. Kris heaves another chunck of drywall into the trailer. Who knew pressed limestone dust could weigh so much? It was exhausting work but it got done. Jim McWhorter and Bill Stoetzer take a break from heaving cement blocks into the dump truck. There was no easy way so we just tackled it head-on. With the front wall finally down the beautiful sunshine gave us renewed energy to keep working. Jim cut a line through the roof, separating the part to be demolished from the part to be saved as the picnic shelter. This was our final task before leaving for the day. Bill and Jim knock out the last remaining wall between the house and the garage. Bill and Jim check out the structure to determine the safest method of removing the supporting wall. Bill and Jim carefully knock out the lower blocks so the rest of the wall will collapse on its own. Jim continues to remove the wall while we keep watch on the roof. This shot was taken after the roof had been taken down. Jim and Bill used rope, heavy chain, and a come-along anchored to nearby trees to pull down the two remaining exterior walls so the roof would collapse in a controlled manner. Everything went as planned and they had the roof down by midday. We videotaped this portion of the demo. We still had the most beautiful weather to work in. And the view of the lake has just improved dramatically. With the roof firmly on the ground we could then begin to tear off shingles and disassemble the framing. This is the hilltop overlooking the wetland. It is here, well above the flood plain, that we can eventually have a new office and visitors center for our program.
We immediatley began tearing off shingles. We worked on this until the winter weather hit in January. The remaining structure is now the picnic shelter, which was saved from demolition. The walls have to be removed to make it an open structure that allows water to easily flow through during a flood. We had formally petitioned the Corps of Engineers to allow the shelter to remain, and after they reviewed our request they granted us an easement to keep the roof with enough pillars to hold it up. They gave us the good news right before Thanksgiving. The demo was something we had dreaded for several years. Our building wasn't much but it was a source of income and we had our office there for the last 2 years. It was very hard to give it up and once again move our office. But, now that it is down we are very pleased to have an open-air patio next to our picnic shelter. We now have a wonderful viewing platform of the wetland for watching birds, taking photographs, or just enjoying the sunshine. Our office is now in a finished room in our neighbors barn, until we can have a real office on the hill. Thanks to Sherrie Baughman we have a wonderful place to work out of next to the wetland. We met our deadline of December 7 and the Corps is satisfied that we complied with their order. We can now continue the remaining cleanup as time, weather, and volunteers allow. The view really is beautiful. Bill and Jim alternated days when they could work on the shingles and roof frame. It did not take long with both of them working as time allowed. We had stacked the shingles in one pile and the 4x8 sheets of plywood in another pile to wait for spring cleanup. Winter finally arrived soon after this and work was put on hold. Again, without our friends helping every chance they had we could not have met our deadline and we could not have gotten as much accomplished as we did. We love you guys! The lake was still frozen so it was the perfect time to begin burning the piles of wood debris. After a few hours of cutting long pieces into shorties to fit the firering the pile had shrunk by nearly half. Volunteers Sherrie, Heather, and, Nathan slowly add small pieces to the fire to keep it small and safe. Sherrie, Heather and I had sorted the piles of remaining debris into burnable wood, stackable bricks, disposable shingles, and misc rubble. By this time we learned that the Corps of Engineers would allow us to keep the garage to store our tools and equipment. The cement blocks will be used to rebuild the west wall to secure the building. Our friend Jon Elsasser donated monay to rent this dumpster. We spent almost two weeks loading shingles, roofing plywood, and brick rubble to be hauled away. Thanks so much Jon! The cleanup is progressing very well. The remaining cement slab will now be our "garden patio". Sherrie and Heather take a well-deserved break in the shade of a beautiful White Pine next to the patio. Our friends Mike and Hank Escola placed this park bench for people to enjoy. The view is perfect. Thanks guys! Most of the wood has either been burned or taken by local friends for other projects. We had to place "No Trespassing" signs to try to keep people from pilfering through the debris. Unfortunately, we have had tools stolen by vandals who also rummage through the debris and undo our cleanup efforts. The flower garden is better this year since it is in now in full sun
By November, we had moved out of the building, disconnected all utilities, and salvaged out the whole interior. The building to the right of the white downspout is to be removed down to the cement slab. The walls to the left of the downspout will be removed, but the roof will remain making the picnic shelter bigger.
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