Last Friday, the demo team made significant headway on the site preparation work. It was a busy day focused on breaking up and removing the old concrete paths and foundations to get us ready for the next stages of the build.
The Demolition Process: Breaking and Peeling
The star of the show was our 3-tonne excavator, fitted with a small rock breaker attachment. We used a technique called “stitching,” where the breaker chips a line through the concrete path. Once weakened, we can use the machine’s ripper to peel up entire slabs and fold them back on themselves. All of that old 100mm path has now been pulled up and added to a pile, where it’s broken down into smaller pieces before being loaded into a skip for removal.
Challenges: Neighbours, Vibration, and Water
This phase isn’t without its challenges. We’ve removed the old pool area, which involved very thick concrete. The main issue here is vibration, which travels easily through the sandy soil to neighbouring properties.
To minimise this as much as we can, we’re deliberately using the smaller 3-tonne excavator instead of a much larger machine. We’re being as gentle as possible, but breaking concrete is inherently a noisy, impactful job.
Another expected challenge is our high water table. Soil tests show groundwater at about 1.6 metres deep. Once we dig down to that level, we’ll be dealing with water, which is something we’re prepared for.
Detailed Work and Design Tweaks
Some areas require extra attention. For instance, the old stairs appear to be pinned into the boundary wall. These will need careful stitching with the rock breaker and some final manual removal. We also found a large, thick concrete footing that was likely an original design feature to protect the seawall.
Speaking of design, we met with the engineer last week and made a smart adjustment to the pool plan. Instead of excavating a deep void underneath it, we’ll keep the existing ground, build a retaining wall and new slab, and place the pool on top. This change better protects the adjacent seawall from any structural stress.
What’s Next
Beyond the concrete, we wrapped up other jobs. We finished installing irrigation to a protected tree and wrapped its trunk to keep it moist. A second shade area was also completed—a vital feature for our regular Friday site barbecues, which are a great team tradition!
So, what’s left? We’ll pull out the remaining rotten framing by hand and tackle the thick edge beams of the old slab, which will require more precise rock breaking. All going well, we estimate about another 10 days of work to complete this demolition and preparation phase.
