November 27, 2008

VANBOTS

With its 90-foot reach and interchangeable tools, the track-mounted Liebherr 954C is a versatile piece of machinery.

Priestly Demolition brings just the right tool to Automotive Building project

IAN HARVEY

correspondent

TORONTO

Taking down the roof of the historic and heritage-designated Automotive Building at the Canadian National Exhibition is a little like open heart surgery with the patient’s family peering over your shoulder.

The iconic 1929 structure is in the midst of a $46.88-million revitalization which will see it open next year as the Allstream Centre, a state of the art, LEED Silver Class “A” conference centre.

The exterior of the 160,000-square-foot building will be preserved while some upgrades and new windows are added to replace opaque panels installed about 40 years ago.

Inside, the terrazzo floors and other art deco-period finishes will also be preserved.

The project, designed by NORR Architects and built by Vanbots, also involved removing the roof to get rid of columns and opening up the first floor for a 45,000-square-foot ballroom and a smaller 9,600-square foot-ballroom upstairs.

With the eyes of the community, the City of Toronto, the historical society and Heritage Canada watching, the job of extracting the roof while not disturbing the rest of the building’s integrity fell to Priestly Demolition.

Luckily, they had just the tool for the job, says Mike Glavin, Priestly’s general superintendant working on the project.

“We didn’t buy the Liebherr 954C for this job, but it’s worked out that it’s the first time we’ve used it and it’s really worked well,” says Glavin.

The $1-million, track-mounted machine has a 90-foot reach up and across and because it is a boom, is able to get into tight corners a traditional shearer cannot. With interchangeable tools on the business end, in the hands of an experienced operator it’s a demolition man’s dream machine.

It’s a formidable piece of machinery with a six cylinder 326 HP engine and weighs up to 75.6 kilograms, depending on configuration.

“We started taking out the roofing material by hand and that was labour intensive and took about three weeks,” Glavin says. “And then we got to work with the boom and the rotating shear.”

The hipped roof with a trussed steel web was cut apart and taken down in sections without unduly shaking up the rest of the masonry structures. They also used a tool they built themselves – the “poker” to get to specific areas to cut them loose.

There were about 18 points on each side of the roof which had to be disconnected to relieve the load before dismantling. Traditionally, the job would probably be done with a few zoom-booms and torches, says Glavin, adding that method can be arduous, takes much longer and is more dangerous.

“Safety is a huge factor here because with this machine we can get in there from a distance,” he says.

“That’s one of the things we’re looking to use this machine for in the future — to do demolitions after a fire when you can’t get inside the building because it’s unsafe so you have to work from the street.”

The operation took just about a week and preserved the plaster ceilings in the lobby while also not damaging anything else.

“It worked out beautifully,” says Glavin. “About another week for clean up and then a few more weeks for some other stuff.”

The fast pace has won smiles from the general contractor and subs, he says, because this year’s rain-hampered construction season has been plagued with delays.

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