Hello Everyone. This past week has brought dramatic change to Little Mexico as you will see from the following photos. There was a veritable storm of activity this week as the contractor did some SERIOUS demolition! The remaining walls were torn down and the roof was removed up to the dining area. Read on for more details.
Monday June 1st
When we arrived at 7:45 am, the work was already well along on removing the back wall of the restaurant to prepare for the roof coming off. By lunchtime the back wall was gone and the debris had been cleaned up.
The demolition crews had been busy inside also. The rest of the sheetrock had been removed from the dining area and the restroom walls.
Tuesday June 2nd
Bright and early the steel contractor showed up with cutting torches, chainsaw powered cut off saw, and extended reach forklift to begin removing the roof. They cut loose large sections of roof decking and steel girders and then lowered them to the parking lot where they were cut into smaller pieces for transport in the many dumpsters.
Wednesday June 3rd
The crews continue cutting the roof into sections that the forklift can handle for the ride down to the parking lot but, by mid afternoon, they have gotten to a point where the forklift is just not long enough to reach the remaining roof that needs to come out. Tomorrow the big crane from 5J is making another appearance!
Thursday June 4th
The 50 ton crane from 5J Trucking arrives. The crane operator affectionately calls it “THE DESTROYER” and, we soon see why. The sections of roof removed by this crane’s 125 foot reach are much larger than those the forklift could manage. In fact, The last two sections of roof removed are a whopping 16 feet by 60 feet and weigh more than twelve tons each! As they come across the walls of the building, it looks like a scene from “INDEPENDENCE DAY”!
Once the last sections are on the ground the work REALLY begins because they have to be cut into smaller pieces and put in the dumpsters and all of the carbonized insulation from on top of the decking has to be swept up and disposed of.
This guy tried to apply for demolition but, he didn’t have
A Hard Hat!
Finally, at the end of the day, the last of the equipment is removed from the kitchen: The thirty-two foot long vent-a-hood from the north wall. This piece was so large and heavy that they had to use the crane to remove it and then the welders had to cut it into two pieces so that it would fit into the dumpster!
Friday June 5th
Today the crew continued to remove the remaining debris from the demolition of the roof and power washed the walls inside the building as well as the slab to clean off the soot and dirt that had fallen when the roof was removed. The area revealed with the roof gone and the equipment removed reminds us of a large outdoor stage. Maybe we should book a few concerts while waiting on construction to begin.
Next week the masonry people are coming to even up the walls by removing bricks. This is preparation for re-laying blocks to support the new roof structure. While this promises to be less dramatic, it is still PROGRESS! We hope you enjoyed this week’s developments as much as we did and, we hope you come back next week!
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