Desert Demo

 

The site from above: trailer, addition, casita and two metal sheds.

Coordinating this demolition took some work. Capping the septic, shutting down water and electricity were the easy parts, although getting the electric meter removed required a visit to the electric co-op to ensure they did it on time. For a reason that still escapes me, getting an old propane tank removed by the company Amerigas was the hardest of all. If it wasn't for the BBB, aka Better Business Bureau, I think that tank would still be there. I reported Amerigas to the BBB, who then contacted the company. Afterward I received an email from corporate Amerigas. After a back and forth, they eventually confirmed the tank could be removed, but not before I sent them a death certificate to get them to close the account. When the trucker came to pick up the tank, he was bewildered by how complicated it was to remove their tank. Google searches of "Amerigas" show how difficult they can be. After buying up independent propane dealers across the States, they then closed all their local offices to the public. The call center, across the oceans, had little ability to resolve the problem. Thankfully I was able to resolve it because its removal was necessary to pass inspection.

An assessment of what needs to be removed before demo can begin.

Unique rocks collected by my wife's uncle Sid (he worked for the USGS) were moved to the center island made last year when I cleared the dead plants in front of the trailer. The bricks and pavers were to be saved, but I did not have the time to get them out first. I assumed the track-loader Kubota could ride over them easily enough, but instead the skid-steer function of the machine simply turned them into the ground. While the bricks survived, the 8x16 pavers are light duty and most broke. This ended up requiring me to hire another crew to haul and stack the bricks. All cinder blocks were removed via a "free cinderblocks" ad on Craig's List —plenty of takers.

 

An assessment of the metals to be recycled and trees in the way.

The trees are mostly Mesquite and, in this area, are found in riparian zones where moisture is more prevalent. Here they were planted by Sid and kept watered. Having no access to water, they died in the four years after his death. I brought our small chainsaw to cut these down. The large tree, in front, is an olive and was hanging on. I cut that down as well as it was going to interfere with the demolition and is not native to the States. 

The back of the trailer reveals an addition, deck, and more trees to cut.

More masonry blocks on the backside of the trailer, facing south. Here there are three Mesquite trees, the utility post, a loosely constructed deck, plenty of pack rat nesting materials and Cholla spines. The trailer addition would be the last structure to be demolished. 

Pavers are heavy to dispose in a dumpster, so they are stacked out of the way.

Bricks were saved. Unfortunately, only after the Kubota turned them into the sand.

 

Rocks collected by my wife's uncle were placed in the center of the turn circle to be saved.

Skinning the trailer.

I could've attacked the trailer with the Kubota and then separated the metals, but it was more efficient of time and fuel to be more organized. First job was to remove the windows and doors, all of which were glass and aluminum. This aluminum is the good stuff, most desired by the scrapper that I had with me to process and haul the metals. Anything with glass was brought into the dumpster (out of sight) and smashed of its glass. The metal was then stripped of its non-aluminum components so the scrapper could get top dollar for "clean" metal.

 

Under the aluminum skin was, surprisingly, foam-core.

After removing windows, the aluminum siding and trim was removed. This material is essentially the "dirty" metal, bringing in a lower price. Although I prepared for asbestos, I found nothing that indicated asbestos materials —everything was either a wood or cellulose based product or plastics. 

Skinned of siding and foam-core, I then removed the fiberglass batting.

Although I didn't want to do it manually, it made much more sense to remove the fiberglass batting filling the wall cavities before demolishing the trailer and casita. Insulation is light weight and would blow away without removing it by hand and depositing in the dumpster. All that remained after was the studs and wood paneling on the interior.

The Kubota with grapple-bucket. Open bucket allows sand to fall through.

The Kubota was going to do the heavy smashing of the remainder of the trailer. Although it could be done manually, it would take much longer —especially for one person. The main benefit is the ability to reach high, crush, and move heavy materials to the dumpster or recycling stacks. The downside is the amount of dust that is made when sand and materials fall through the bucket's bottom grate. Unfortunately, this Kubota was not outfitted with a fully enclosed cab which meant that I experienced all dust clouds. I attempted to outfit the grate with metal mesh to hold onto smaller pieces of debris, but the aggressive action tore that off in short order.

Full hazmat due to the extreme amount of pack rat feces and no water to minimize dust.

My original intention for the full hazmat suit and face shield with P100 respirator was because of the potential for asbestos in a 1971 trailer (for the curious, a Bainbridge). Yet, that concern didn't turn out. However, I knew there was a ton of rat poop in and around the trailer and this was yet another potential hazard.

 

Insulation and Cholla spines are a favorite nesting material. The black spots are feces.

The rats made Sid's place their playground in the four years since his death. They had nests all around and so regularly traversed the trailer interior that the floors were covered in feces. When I lifted a structure, disturbing their daytime hiding spots, I was a bit startled by their large stature. Pack rats are large with bulging black eyes and, with eyes like that, they were likely blinded by the bright sun. Most did not want to scurry away, although they had tunnels nearby to retreat to.

I was already familiar with Hantavirus from my time in New Mexico, but the death of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy foregrounded the possibility. Pack rats are not commonly carriers in the Sonoran, but they can be, and the large turds of the pack rats overshadowed the possibility of other rodents that are more common carriers. The dust stirred among feces and urine is the most common vector for humans to pick up the virus.

 

The two demolished sheds. Scrap metal, mostly aluminum and steel, were recycled.

The first structure to be demolished were two metal sheds that were located to the east of the casita and trailer. These were the easiest to take down. This metal was taken away by the scrapper.

 

Attacking the casita. Note how the machine made a mess of the bricks.

After the front part of the casita was demolished.

Although the machine makes it look easy, there is still plenty to do around the machine work. Thousands of little pieces of building materials are scattered about or ground into the sand. These need to be picked up and is the most tedious of demolition tasks. To do this demolition work, I needed to get a county permit. Along with the permit comes pre-demolition and post-demolition inspections. The site is required to be raked clean which means all the little remnants need to be disposed of. This isn't fun work in a hot hazmat suit with full face shield.

 

At the end of day two with the machine, I had yet to fully skin the rear of the casita.

I stopped here because it was a long day, but also because I had revealed two Diamondback Rattlesnakes. One was injured by the demolition, the other not harmed. Both decided to hide under debris for the night. The next day I called in the removal service -expensive but at least he came quickly, was willing to search for the snakes, and relocated them to an appropriate site. The possibility of snakes was anticipated as we had always known there were rattlers living under the casita. However, it was surprising that the snakes and rats would live virtually on top of each other.

 

Finding the first Diamondback for removal and relocation.

 

Into the bucket. With cool nights, they are reasonable at this time of the year.

Demolishing the trailer required me to, first, hack away at the front wall.

Another view, from the rear at the end of day three with the Kubota.

Everyone was worried about how I would take on the roof.

I learned years ago that wood structures fall slowly, so I was confident that my plan for the roof, while difficult, would work. It did. As I removed the remaining studs on either end of the trailer, the roof fell as planned. Tearing the metal from it was more annoying, and it was the only metal that went into a dumpster instead of to the scrapper.

 

End of day four with the Kubota.

Another view, end of day four.

Interlude: Leaf cutting ants.

No need to show images of the remaining two days with the Kubota when I tackled the floor of the main trailer and had the scrapper cut the steel I-beams that supported it. The following day I took on the rear trailer addition. After that it was one day of collecting brush for a burn pole, and two days of picking up pieces of debris.

 

 

Debris is a mix of household items, construction materials and rat nasty.

Endless pieces of debris, cholla spines, and cinderblocks to pick up.

Always a surprise when reaching for a piece of trash becomes another rattlesnake.

The inside of the turning circle, looking to the northeast.

Looking to the southeast from the turn circle.

Looking toward the southwest from the old driveway. I left one mesquite standing.

The entire demolition took about nine days and doing it myself cost at least half as much as the quotes I received in 2024. There were some planning mishaps —primarily the removal of bricks and pavers. This needed to be done first, and although the junk hauler I brought in at the beginning of the project said it was possible, the crew that showed up said they couldn't. I ended up bringing in another hauler who did most of the brick and paver stacking while I dug them out of the sand. I also had to bring in a junk hauler to remove broken pavers and cinderblock, costing way-too-much. Both of these added about two grand to my original estimate. 

 

Lessons learned, still we saved at least 50% on the quoted prices and on my last day in Arizona, the inspector came and the project passed inspection. I was also able to protect the native plants on site, even those very close to the structures. which the demolition companies said could not be guaranteed. We also recycled nearly all the metals, a goal we had from the beginning. Job well done.