Demolition

If a proposed construction project is taking place on a site with existing structures, then a demolition phase may be required. For projects on empty land, no demolition calculations are needed. Alternatively, if the existing levels have been surveyed post-demolition, no calculation is required in that scenario either.

While the majority of demolition estimating falls outside the scope of a volumetric analysis program like Kubla Cubed, the program can be useful in analysing certain activates where an estimation of volume is required. Even if these volume are not necessary, it is crucial to complete the demolition phase to adjust existing elevations properly for use in calculating volumes in subsequent phases.

Consider a project with a 400mm thick concrete foundation to be removed during demolition. Without a phase that reduces that level, subsequent phases calculating over that area will be inaccurate, as they will be calculating from the pre-demolition level rather than post-demolition.

Demolition must be defined in its own phase. If earthworks elements are placed over demolition areas in the same phase, they can override the demolition levels, effectively making the demolition elements redundant. Instead, demolition elements must be in their own phase so subsequent operations are calculated from the demolition level rather than overriding it.