Overview:

ARC Construction Services’ specializes in providing demolition & abatement services to customers in the mid-Atlantic region. There is a definite advantage to utilizing a single-source company to handle the complete demolition and abatement job. There is no second-guessing as to who is responsible for what aspects of the project meaning liability issues are significantly reduced. Also, our demolition experts are trained to recognize abatement hazards, keeping the jobsite safe for all trades.

Challenge:

Hitt Contracting hired ARC Construction Services to provide demolition & abatement services at the Hay Adams Hotel in Washington DC. The project consisted of interior demolition and abatement work as preparation for new construction and renovation of the hotel, including:

• Removal of an existing penthouse
• Removal of raised concrete slab on rooftop
• Removal of elevator shaft
• Removal of cooling towers
• Removal of ceiling to expose existing mechanicals
• Removal of lead paint

The project had several challenges associated with it including:

• An extremely aggressive time schedule
• As the Hotel is located directly across from the White House, security and project scrutiny was especially tight
• All material from the demolition and abatement activities had to be removed directly off the roof

Solutions:

Several contractors were in the running to secure the contract for this job. In the end, ARC Construction Services proved to be the only firm that had the capabilities to meet the necessary scheduling and project challenges and was awarded the job. Part of the solution to meeting all requirements was that the equipment capabilities, personnel and knowledge of how to accomplish the job were already in place. The solutions consisted of utilizing these capabilities in creative and aggressive ways to meet the demanding time schedule.

To address the material removal challenge, a tower crane was used to remove all material off the roof of the hotel. The use of a tower crane necessitated coordination of lane closures, traffic pattern changes, and various procedures to ensure pedestrian safety on the ground. The penthouse removal schedule was met with the demolition being completed in seven days. Brokk machines were utilized to hammer down the existing penthouse.

If working with a difficult time schedule and full workload was not challenging enough, the location of the hotel being directly across from the White House added a level of security oversight that is not normally found on demolition projects. By coordinating with Hay Adams and Hitt representatives, ARC was not only able to complete the necessary demolition on time, but met all security and safety requirements.

The abatement aspect of the job consisted of removing lead paint from existing historical architectural detail. The process entailed wetting down the areas to be remediated to contain the lead material. This was all accomplished without any damage to the historically significant areas while meeting all health and safety requirements.