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What is a strip out?

Thu, 30 Jul 2020 12:01:52 GMT

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A strip out refers to the process of removing all the non-essential elements of a room or building so it can be reused. This service is commonly performed by people who want to renovate a room or building.

What is removed during a strip out?

A complete strip out process includes the removal of:

Temporary floors and ceilings
Floor coverings
Non-load-bearing partitions
Electrical and mechanical electrical systems
Lighting
Cables and cable trays
Heating and ventilation
Air conditioning units
The disconnection of utilities such as gas, water, electricity and telecommunications

Strip outs are essential in demolition

Whether you’re shifting into a new office space or renovating part of your home, a strip out and/or demolition will be required if you want it to be absolutely empty for future use. This includes getting rid of any fixtures or systems you won’t require for the future. With a strip out procedure, you can easily start with a clean canvas and have full control over the new space you want to create.

Strip out rubbish removal

This includes the removal of unwanted junk that involves hand removing any debris from the site. Some of the rubbish or debris that is collected during a strip out include asbestos, unwanted furniture, demolition debris, household junk, unwanted appliances, etc.

Kitchen strip out

Some common kitchen strip out items include benchtops, cupboards, kitchen appliances, refrigerators, microwaves, ovens, dishwashers, coffee machines, stools, kitchen fixtures, cabinets, vanities, wall tiles, and more.

Bathroom strip out

Common bathroom strip out items include bathroom tiles, shower partitions, bathtubs, toilets, sinks, basins and vanities, cupboards, bathroom fixtures and more.

Commercial strip out

Office strip out

Office strip outs include removing furniture, workstations and dividers, flooring, walls, kitchenettes and kitchen fixtures, bathrooms, ceilings, air conditioning, glass and more.

Contact Relient Civil Group

With the help of our strip out services, you can begin fresh with a clean canvas and completely design and decorate your new space the way you want it. Reach out to our team today to organise strip-out services.

How do you decontaminate soil?

Thu, 30 Jul 2020 00:35:52 GMT

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There are a diverse number of ways to decontaminate soil. In this blog, we detail everything you need to know about soil decontamination.

Why should I decontaminate soil?

Contaminated soil can be dangerous to livestock and potentially to people through ingesting plants grown in the soil, ingesting water that the soil contaminated, breathing in violates from the soil, or absorbing the contaminants through their skin. When rehabilitating a site after use, it is important to test and decontaminate the soil to prevent health hazards to future inhabitants.

Decontamination methods

Biological treatment/bioremediation

Bioremediation is using bacteria to break down contaminants in the soil. This is effective for soil contaminated with hydrocarbons, halogenated organic solvents, halogenated organic compounds, non-chlorinated pesticides and herbicides, nitrogen compounds, metals (lead, mercury, chromium) and/or radionuclides. Bioremediation is cheaper than other disposal options but can take up to several months to carry out depending on the size of the site.

Chemical oxidation

Chemical oxidation is injecting chemical oxidants into the contaminated soil to destroy contaminants with chemical reactions. In situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) is useful when decontaminating the soil under buildings or deep under the ground. It is effective against TPH, BTEX, PCBs and other organic contaminants.

Soil stabilisation

Soil stabilisation involves one of two things; modifying the soil contaminant to be less dangerous, or locking the contaminant in place so it can’t move into groundwater, air etc. To achieve this, you insert immobilising agents into the soil, which reduces the contaminant’s leachability and bioavailability. You can also use soil stabilisation before you start work on a site to improve the durability and decrease the permeability of the soil.

Commercial strip out

Soil stabilisation

Physical methods

Physical methods of soil decontamination include soil washing, excavation, constructing barriers around the contaminated soil, capping, soil vapour extraction, electrochemical methods and thermal treatment. Here are some explanations on what each of these do:

Soil washing

Wash the soil with a liquid wash solution. Contaminants will wash away with silts and clays, leaving you with sand and gravel restored to its state before contamination.

Excavation

Loosen, quarry, load, haul, unload and dispose of the soil.

Constructing barriers

This is useful when your main goal is to stop large-scale contaminant migration.

Capping

Prevent precipitation from getting into the soil and creating contaminated groundwater.

Soil vapour extraction

Best for removing highly volatile substances with high vapour pressures from an unsaturated area.

Electrochemical methods

Use electro-kinetic phenomena to remove heavy metals from the soil.

Thermal treatment

Best for removing combustible substances such as solvents, petroleum, coal-derived hydrocarbons, BTEX, aromatics, PAHs, highly volatile CFCs, chlorinated herbicides or pesticides. Be mindful that thermal treatment is expensive, requires multiple treatment steps, often uses additional fuel and can have extra costs in destroying the contaminant after it is removed.

Contact Relient Civil Group

Reach out to the team at Relient Civil to discuss the best soil decontamination method for your next project site. You can speak with us today by giving us a call or filling out our online enquiry form.

How long does it take to demolish infrastructure?

Wed, 27 May 2020 00:57:55 GMT

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The process of demolishing a residential house or corporate building can be a long and challenging project. Demolition projects cannot be rushed as they need to be planned accordingly to suit the environment as well as government restrictions. When trying to figure out exactly how long your particular demolition project will take, there is no straightforward answer. Multiple factors that determine how long a demolition project will take and these may differ from project to project.

Here at Relient Civil Group , we have put together a list of some factors that can influence the overall time it takes to demolish your home or civil infrastructure.

These demolition factors include:

Legal Permissions
Utility Service Removal
Asbestos Removal
Salvaging Materials/Items

(Note: these factors will differ in time depending on the location of the demolition project).

Legal permissions

When you are first looking to demolish your house or corporate building, you need to make sure that you have spoken to your local city council to gain approval. This approval will come in the form of a demolition permit which will allow you to carry out the demolition. Depending on your local council, the time may vary on how long it takes to get council approval. Usually, it can take anywhere from 10-15 working days to process your request.

Depending on the location of your demolition project, this could require the consent of your neighbours. This is because most demolition projects are quite loud, causing a lot of disturbance with the surrounding neighbourhood.

Utility service removal

Before you fire up the excavator and start removing walls and demolishing the infrastructure, you must remove all underground service utilities first. These underground utilities include water lines, sewage pipework, drainage piping and gas lines. Simply disconnecting these services is not enough, you’ll need to completely remove them.

By removing these first, it will save a lot of time later in the project if you accidentally dig underground too far. The removal of these utilities could take anywhere from a day to a week, depending on the depth and the various utilities.

Asbestos removal

If there is any asbestos in the house or infrastructure, this hazardous material under Australian law will need to be removed by a professional. When removing asbestos, there are strict rules and regulations that need to be adhered to during the removal process. If these aren’t followed, severe health problems and complications could result from improper processes.

Before asbestos can be removed, a permit needs to be obtained for safe removal. If neighbours are in close proximity, they need to be informed about the process taking place. The removal of the asbestos materials needs to be aligned with Australian law, reducing the risk to the environment and public.

Depending on the amount of asbestos that needs to be removed and the complexity of the task, it could take a few hours or a few days. In some cases, it could take a week, so talk to an asbestos removal specialist at Relient Civil Group. To discuss your specific project.

You can read more about asbestos removal on our previous blog post - What is asbestos and how to remove it?

Salvaging materials and items

If your home or infrastructure has valuable items in it, before you can start the demolition process, these will need to be removed. When looking to recycle materials such as bricks, concrete, floorboards and steel, this increases the time it takes to demolish your project.

This process could take a day or a few days depending on the number of salvageable items or recyclable materials.

Get in touch with Relient Civil Group for a house demolition quote today!

Whether you need demolition experts to demolish a house so you can rebuild on the land or remove asbestos from your home, Relient Civil Group are the experts you need. With over 10 years of demolition experience, our team are ready to tackle any house demolition project you require. Get a free quote by giving us a call or filling out our online form today!

What is asbestos and how to remove it?

Sun, 01 Mar 2020 01:08:51 GMT

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The process in removing the material known as asbestos from your home can be a dangerous task to undertake. Asbestos removal is an action that needs to be undertaking using the proper processes, otherwise, damage can be caused not only to the removalist but the owners of the home.

What is asbestos?

Asbestos is a generic name given to a group of silicate materials that occur through a natural process in the environment. Due to asbestos’s various benefits which include a unique mixture of tensile strength, insulation, flexibility, and chemical properties, this material was widely utilised in industries from the 1800s. Asbestos fibres are anywhere from 50 to 200 times thinner than human hair, making them almost invisible to the human eye while also being light enough to float in the air. This makes these fibres easy to breathe into the lungs, causing serious life-changing implications.

Why is asbestos dangerous?

Asbestos today is known as the ‘silent killer’ due to these particles being hard to see and breathe in without any warning. People who work in the asbestos industry, whether that is mining, milling, manufacturing goods, or demolishing material that has asbestos in it, are the main people to be affected by this. When asbestos is disturbed, it forms tiny fibres that float in the air and can easily inhaled. These fibres can become small enough to travel down through the body until they pierce the lining of our lungs. Once these fibres reach this point, our body cannot remove them and as a result, will stay in our body for the rest of our life. Some of the diseases that are due to the result of asbestos exposure include lung cancer, intestinal tract cancer and pleural plaques.

How to safely remove asbestos?

Asbestos removal is not recommended unless you are licensed to remove the material. However, if you choose to remove asbestos yourself, you are only permitted to remove 10m2 or less of non-friable asbestos-containing material. Here at Relient Civil Group , we adhere to the proper process and each contractor has the required licenses to completely eradicate all asbestos from your home. We use the main method of asbestos removal known as the wet spray method.

Wet spray method

The wet spray method is the preferred option in regards to eliminating asbestos from your home. The wet spray method requires the use of a constant stream of low-pressure water to cover the entire surface area where the asbestos is, ensuring complete saturation. Spraying the asbestos with water significantly reduces airborne asbestos, allowing for safe removal. Once the asbestos surface is fully soaked in water, you can carefully remove the materials from the area and place them in an asbestos removal container, ensuring that no one makes contact with the area.

In need of asbestos removal services? Contact Relient Civil Group

Whether you have found asbestos in your home or on your worksite, the team at Relient Civil Group are leaders in asbestos removal . We have taken on asbestos removal in a range of projects, so give us a call or fill out our online enquiry form to discuss our asbestos removal rates today!