Using Topographical Surveying as a Pre-Demolition Tool

The demolition industry has a particular character for being a tough atmosphere in which brute force takes priority over calculated thought; however this impression is far from appropriate. There is a huge amount of work that goes on behind the scenes of the demolition and construction sector that is firmly rooted in the academic world.

One part of this unnoticed work is site surveying, or more precisely pre-demolition and post-demolition topographical surveying. This kind of work demands a great balance of specific technical understanding as well as experience of the industry and a natural intuition for the complexities of the job.

Topographical Surveys

A topographical survey is a report of the physical features of a particular piece of land. The purpose of a topographical survey is to chart the naturally occurring and man-made features of a specific landscape to a high degree of accuracy. Whilst topography itself may refer to the surface of any kind of object, it is more commonly associated with the surface of the planet.

Topographical surveys can be carried out on a very broad range of landscapes, from open countryside to urban developments and across a variety of reliefs and land surfaces. Surveys can be developed to take into account a great number of factors, such as ground variables or vegetation, and as such can be used for a multitude of tasks.

Common Applications for Topographical Surveys

Perhaps the most widely used, and most commonly recognised application for topographical surveys is cartography, or map making. Modern day maps include a great amount of information about the landscape they relate to, including waterways, reliefs and ground surface, all of which will have been gathered via a topographical survey. This information is also being offered online.

Topographical surveys also have a major role to play in the construction business. When individuals or companies are looking to construct any kind of structure they will need to carry out extensive surveys as part of the design phase of the project. These surveys are often an important part of any application for planning permission as well.

Surveys definitely play a key safety part in primary industries like mining, or in other industries that interact with the land, such as demolition and infrastructure. Companies in these industries will use surveys to prepare their projects, but also to make sure that they can guarantee the safety of their staff on site.

Most construction and demolition firms within the United Kingdom conduct demolition surveys for projects they may be working on.

Types of Survey

The arena of topography addresses a large number of physical features so it is beneficial to determine what form of topographical survey is suitable for a particular situation.

“Lie of the land” Surveys

These types of topographical surveys are designed to create a summary of the physical properties of any given plot of land. Although the information collected by the survey will be extremely accurate, and might be very extensive, the objective of these surveys is to give a site summary. They will often be the first type of topographical survey that is undertaken on a project.

These surveys will generally include a boundary survey that sets out to define the extent of the site and spotlight any particular restraints that are determined by the geography of the site. They can also include a level survey that will plot the elevation of the terrain and the various gradients that exist.

Building Surveys

Building surveys are more typically concerned with man-made structures on a site, including the surveying of special machines and even infrastructure characteristics. This type of survey is more commonly associated with the demolition sector because it can give a detailed plan of the building to be demolished. It can be used on other projects as well.

A building survey will probably include a measured survey, which involves creating a precise plan of the external and internal dimensions of a structure. Depending on the requirements of the project, a measured survey could provide simple building “footprint” measurements, or might produce a highly detailed plan of the structure.

Content of a Topographical Site Survey

A survey of a demolition site will almost always include the details gathered by the types of boundary and building surveys mentioned above. This information will be required so the demolition company can plan a demolition that is both satisfactory and safe.

Surveys will often include information about the energy services that are present on a site before any demolition or construction work happens. This is an essential safety factor because any unmonitored destruction to pipes and cables carrying water, gas and electricity could be very dangerous. The information could also be used to plan new structures, based upon the existing availability of these ammenities.

Another aspect of the site survey will often be an inventory of resources on the site. This type of survey will be a quantity survey of the various sorts of materials that can be found on site, for example, tiles and masonry, concrete that can be used as hardcore or even timber. By getting an accurate audit of site materials the construction firm can more precisely determine the need to import building resources, or they can re-use the materials on a different project. These surveys can be made pre-demolition as well as post-demolition.

Performing a rigorous , comprehensive house demolition survey ensures the safety of people in the immediate vicinity of the work site.

Importance of Site Surveys

Maybe the most important reason to perform a topographical site survey is to ensure the health and safety of the people who will be doing work on the site. The industrial sectors that most commonly call for site surveys are dangerous enough as it is without having to be concerned about the condition of the ground on which they are working. Taking a detailed topographical survey can help to mitigate safety risks of this nature.

Another important reason to get a suitable survey done is to identify any potential problems that may arise because of the physical properties of the region. Certain things will not be evident on the surface of the site and will only be discovered once digging or demolition has started. By then it may be too late to deal with these problems, or at best they will be costly issues to solve.

The inventory of site supplies, as previously stated, can be of great benefit to a demolition or construction enterprise working on a project. Not only are construction materials themselves expensive, but transporting them to the site may be a very expensive task in itself. Any time that material can be recycled on site offers an opportunity to save development time and money. Only by taking an accurate audit of these materials can a company properly plan its imported material needs.

Topographical surveys can also highlight other areas that will be of use to the project planners. For example, if the gradients on a site would be prohibitive to certain vehicles or machinery then a new entry route or alternative machinery will have to be found. Equally, an appropriate site will need to be found for the base of management operations for the project. Good site surveying can help out in these less tangible ways.

Positioning of Survey Control

During the surveying and construction stages of a construction project, the equipment required for the physical surveying of the site and control of the survey data will often be stored on-site. This is obviously a problem when it comes to the demolition stage of a project since the machinery is both costly and sensitive.

Once the demolition has taken place and the site has been deemed safe for personnel to return to it, the surveying equipment can be restored to its original position on site. This will allow for effective data gathering to take place for a post-demolition study, and keeps a single point of contact for anybody who requires the topographical survey information.

Experience is often a deciding variable whenever selecting a buildings demolition contractor because each project has specific requirements and unique difficulties.

Who can Perform Site Surveys?

Because topographical site surveys can play such a critical role in the success or failure of a construction or demolition project it is vital that they are carried out thoroughly by the correct people. There are different divisions of site surveying and each one will have specific qualifications associated with it. Finding surveyors with these specific skills will certainly be beneficial.

When selecting a company to undertake the surveying work required for your project it will be sensible to choose a business with a good reputation and a proven track record. Ask to see reviews of their previous work and try to get feedback about their overall performance on past projects.

Who will use the Survey Information?

When an adequate level of information has been accumulated by a site survey it must be passed out to the appropriate people on-site. Who gets which pieces of information will largely depend on the job roles being executed, but can also rely on the stage that a project is at. There will be much less need for materials information midway through construction for example.

Project Planners

Project planners will generally require access to all of the information gathered by a topographical survey, though they will particularly need to use information concerning the physical relief of a site before the design phase, and a site materials inventory before they can plan the construction phase.

Demolition Experts

Demolition organisations will want to know about the internal and exterior properties of any building or structures that they are set to take down. Whilst every job will have different requirements, demolition experts will generally need to know about the fundamental structure of a building and the materials it is made out of. They will need this knowledge before demolition can take place.

Site Engineers

Construction engineers on-site will be mainly interested in the survey data about the relief and topography of the site. It is normally the case that they will need to assemble on a flat surface, so they will use details about the natural lay of the land to determine what work will be needed to create a stable foundation for any building.

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