J OB S I T E S OL U T I O N S
QUICK-TURN DEMOLITION Calls for Proper Planning and Equipment The right equipment enabled a fast food restaurant to be demolished and cleared in just five days.
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ee County’s population grew more than 24% between 2010 and 2019, driven by people moving to the southwest Florida area for the sunny skies and warm temperatures. There’s no sign of any slowdown, as the pandemic made it easier for people to work remotely. Along with population growth comes the demand for the demolition of existing structures to make way for new construction. In January 2021, Backbay Construction earned a project to demolish a fast food restaurant to make way for a new retail bank
branch in Fort Myers. While the total project was scheduled to last six months, the company had to work quickly to get its portions done before other contractors could do their parts.
DEMOLITION AND REMOVAL When he started Backbay Construction, Mike Thesier was following in his father’s footsteps. Bob Thesier moved from Michigan to Florida in 1987 and operated a successful construction business for 20 years. After graduating from the University of Florida, Mike worked for his father’s company in the
estimating department and evenTo demolish the fast food restually managed other estimators. taurant, Backbay Construction In 2009, two years after his chose to pair a Doosan father sold his business, Backbay DX225LC-5 crawler excavator Construction was formed with and a DL220-5 wheel loadonly one other employee and er, with a compact track loader with the state still recoverassisting with some of the demoing from the Great Recession. lition tasks, particularly in tight Today, the company has grown spaces on the jobsite. All three to approximately 35 employees machines were purchased from working on four to seven projects Synergy Equipment. daily. The firm normally works in The wheel loader worked a four-county area in southwest with the excavator to load the Florida. Between trucks, trailers and Several trees along the edge of the equipment, it owns property needed to be removed. The about 50 pieces of equipment. excavator was paired with a bucket
and thumb to help with the task. EDITOR’S NOTE: This month’s cover features Backbay Construction utilizing its Doosan DX225LC-5 crawler excavator on the project described.
HORIZONTAL WORK Thesier has differentiated his company from others by performing “horizontal,” or commercial, site work. The company clears land for future development, performs excavating, grading and filling; asphalt paving; striping and signage; concrete curbing; flatwork and underground utility installations. Most of its projects are between one and 30 acres. For this project, Backbay Construction was responsible for the site earthwork, grading, paving and curbing. Once the demolition and clearing were complete, the company did the site prep. Once that was finished, the company left while a “vertical contractor” built the new structure. Backbay Construction then returned to complete the rest of the project. ET
A Doosan DX225LC-5 crawler excavator and a DL220-5 wheel loader were used to quickly complete demolition of the fast-food restaurant.
20 EQU IPMEN T TODAY | June 2021
roll-off containers containing the demolition debris. “It took about five working days to tear down the Burger King, to demolish it and load it into dumpsters and haul it off site,” says Thesier. Several trees along the edge of the property also needed to be removed. Backbay Construction paired the excavator with a bucket and thumb to help with the task. “We use it for a lot more than excavation,” Thesier comments. “The thumb is integral to keep things safe when we’re taking down trees or doing demolition to be able to grasp whatever we’re working with. “The cameras on the Doosan equipment are extremely helpful in promoting safety and visibility, and letting the operators be aware of their surroundings,” he adds.
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