W. Va. Code R. § 36-23-39

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 19, May 10, 2024

Section 36-23-39 - Demolition

39.1. Preparatory operations.

(a) Prior to permitting employees to start demolition operations, an engineering survey shall be made by a competent person of the structure to determine the condition of the framing, floors, and walls, and possibility of unplanned collapse of any portion of the structure. Any adjacent structure where employees may be exposed shall also be simi­larly checked. The employer shall have in writing evidence that such a survey has been performed.

(b) When employees are required to work within a structure to be demolished which has been damaged by fire, flood, explo­sion, or other cause, the walls or floor shall be shored or braced.

(c) All electric, gas, water, steam, sewer and other service lines shall be shut off, capped, or otherwise controlled, outside the building line before demolition work is started. In each case, any utility company which is involved shall be notified in advance.

(d) if it is necessary to maintain any power, water or other utilities during the demolition, such lines shall be temporarily relocated, as necessary,

and protected.

(e) It shall also be determined if any type of hazardous chemicals, gases, explosives, flammable materials, or similarly dangerous substances have been used in any pipes, tanks, or other equipment on the property. When the presence of any such substanc­es is apparent or suspected, testing and purging shall be per­formed and the hazard eliminated before demolition is started.

(f) Where a hazard exists from frag­mentation of glass, such hazards shall be re­moved.

(g) Where a hazard exists to employ­ees falling through wall openings, the opening shall be protected to a height of approxi­mately forty-two (42) inches.

(h) When debris is dropped through holes in the floor without the use of chutes, the area onto which the material is dropped shall be completely enclosed with barricades not less than forty-two (42) inches high and not less than six (6) feet back from the pro­jected edge of the opening above. Signs, warning of the hazard of falling materials shall be posted at each level and all areas shall be guarded against entry. Removal shall not be permitted in this lower area until debris han­dling ceases above.

(i) All floor openings, not used as material drops, shall be covered over with material substantial enough to support the weight of any load which may be imposed. such material shall be properly secured to prevent its accidental movement.

(j) Except for the cutting of holes in floors for chutes, holes through which to drop materials, preparation of storage space, and similar necessary preparatory work, the demo­lition of exterior walls and floor construction shall begin at the top of the structure and proceed downward. Each story of exterior wall and floor construction shall be removed and dropped into the storage space before commencing the removal of exterior walls and floors in the story next below.

(k) Employee entrances to multi-story structures being demolished shall be complete­ly protected by sidewalk sheds or canopies, or both, providing protection from the face of the building for a minimum of eight (8) feet. All such canopies shall be at least two (2) feet wider than the building entrances or openings (one (1) foot wider on each side thereof), and shall be capable of sustaining a load of one hundred fifty (150) pounds per square foot.

39.2. Stairs, passageways, and ladders.

(a) Only those stairways, passageways, and ladders, designat­ed as means of access to the structure of a building, shall be used. Other access ways shall be entirely closed at all times.

(b) All stairs, passageways, ladders and incidental equipment thereto, which are covered by this section shall be periodically inspected during each shift and maintained in a clean safe condition.

(c) In a multi-story building, when a stairwell is being used, it shall be properly illuminated by either natural or artificial means, and completely and substantially cov­ered over at a point not less than two (2) floors below the floor on which work is being per­formed, and access to the floor where the work is in progress shall be through a properly lighted, protected, and separate passageway.

39.2. Chutes.

(a) No material shall be dropped to any point lying outside the exterior walls of the structure unless the area is effectively protected.

(b) All material chutes, or sections thereof, at an angle of more than forty-five (45) degrees from the horizontal, shall be entirely enclosed, except for openings equipped with closures at or about floor level for the insertion of materials. The openings shall not exceed forty-eight (48) inches in height measured along the wall of the chute. At all stories below the top floor, such open­ings shall be kept closed when not in use.

(c) A substantial gate shall be in­stalled in each chute at or near the discharge end. A competent employee shall be assigned to control the operation of the gate, and the backing and loading of trucks.

(d) When operations are not in prog­ress, the area surrounding the discharge end of the chute shall be securely closed off.

(e) Any chute opening, into which workmen dump debris, shall be protected by a substantial guardrail approximately forty-two (42) inches above the floor or other surface on which the men stand to dump the material. Any space between the chute and the edge of openings in the floors through which it passes shall be solidly covered over.

(f) Where the material is dumped from mechanical equipment or wheelbarrows a securely attached toeboard or bumper, not less than four (4) inches thick and six (6) inches high, shall be provided at each chute opening.

(g) Chutes shall be designed and constructed of such strength as to eliminate failure due to impact of materials or debris loaded therein.

39.4. Removal of materials through floor openings.

Any openings cut in a floor for the disposal of materials shall be no larger in size than twenty-five (25) percent of the aggregate of the total floor area, unless the lateral supports of the removed flooring remain in place. Floors weakened or otherwise made unsafe by demolition operations shall be shored to carry safely the intended imposed load from demoli­tion operations.

39.5. Removal of walls, masonry sections, and chimneys.

(a) masonry walls, or other sections of masonry, shall not be permitted to fall upon the floors of the building in such masses as to exceed the safe carrying capacities of the floors.

(b) No wall section, which is more than one (1) story in height, shall be permitted to stand alone without lateral bracing, unless such wall was originally designed and con­structed to stand without such lateral support, and is in a condition safe enough to be self­supporting. All walls shall be left in a stable condition at the end of each shift.

(c) Employees shall not be permitted to work on the top of a wall when weather conditions constitute a hazard.

(d) Structural or load-supporting members on any floor shall not be cut or removed until all stories above such a floor have been demolished and removed. This provision shall not prohibit the cutting of floor beams for the disposal of materials or for the installation of equipment, provided that the requirements of Section 39.4 and 39.6 of these regulations are complied with.

(e) Floor openings within ten (10) feet of any wall being demolished shall be planked solid, except when employees are kept out of the area below.

(f) In buildings of "Skeleton-Steel" construction, the steel framing may be left in place during the demolition of masonry. Where this is done, all steel beams, girders, and similar structur­al supports shall be cleared of all loose material as the masonry demolition progresses downward.

(g) Walkways or ladders shall be provided to enable employees to safely reach or leave any scaffold or wall.

(h) Walls, which serve as retaining walls to support earth or adjoining structures, shall not be demolished until such earth has been properly braced or adjoining structures have been properly underpinned.

(i) Walls which are to serve as retain­ing walls against which debris will be piled, shall not be so used unless capable of safely supporting the imposed load.

39.6. Manual removal of floors.

(a) Openings cut in a floor shall extend the full span of the arch between sup­ports.

(b) Before demolishing any floor arch, debris and other material shall be re­moved from such arch and other adjacent floor area. Planks not less than two (2) inches x ten (10) inches in cross section, full size undressed, shall be provided for, and shall be used by employees to stand on while breaking down floor arches between beams. Such planks shall be so located as to provide a safe support for the workmen should the arch between the beams collapse. the open space between planks shall not exceed sixteen (16) inches.

(c) Safe walkways, not less than eighteen (18) inches wide, formed of planks not less than two (2) inches thick if wood, or of equivalent strength if metal, shall be pro­vided and used by workmen when necessary to enable them to reach any point without walk­ing upon exposed beams.

(d) Stringers of ample strength shall be installed to support the flooring planks, and the ends of such stringers shall be supported by floor beams or girders, and not be floor arches alone.

(e) Planks shall be laid together over solid bearings with the ends overlapping at least one (1) foot.

(f) When floor arches are being re­moved, employees shall not be allowed in the area directly underneath, and such an area shall be barricaded to prevent access to it.

(g) Demolition of floor arches shall not be started until they, and the surrounding floor area for a distance of twenty (20) feet, have been cleared of debris and any other necessary materi­als.

39.7. Removal of walls, floors, and mate­rial with equipment.

(a) Mechanical equipment shall not be used on floors or working surfaces unless such floors or surfaces are of sufficient strength to support the imposed load.

39.11. Selective demolition by explosives.

Selective demolition by explosives shall be conducted in accordance with Section 40 of these regulations.

W. Va. Code R. § 36-23-39