# On Demolishing a Building and Hosing it Down **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 12, 2003, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-demolishing-a-building-and-hosing-it-down/194543 "2003-08-12T00:56:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-demolishing-a-building-and-hosing-it-down/194543/1 "2003-08-12T00:56:19Z")
On the way to work today I drove past a crew demolishing a building (a 2-story brick apartment house, FTR). While the backhoe was tearing down the walls, a couple of guys on the ground were, get this, _spraying the building with a hose_. This wasn’t a city fire crew, mind you; it was a couple of regular guys using an ordinary garden hose hooked up to an ordinary water spigot. WTF??? What benefit is there in hosing down a building when you’re demolishing it? I note that there wasn’t any sign of a fire (not to mention that if there _was_ a fire, a city fire crew would have been on it in a heartbeat). I also note that it wasn’t a particularly hot day today. Anybody in the demolition business want to explain this to me? TIA ---
**Author:** ![Extraneous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/0ea827/32.png) [@Extraneous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Extraneous)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-demolishing-a-building-and-hosing-it-down/194543/2 "2003-08-12T01:06:21Z")
dust control ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-demolishing-a-building-and-hosing-it-down/194543/3 "2003-08-12T01:21:05Z")
Yep, dust control is right on the money. Knocking down a building can generate HUGE quantities of airborne dust which is not only annoying but also a potential health hazard. Especially since many older buildings (and even some newer ones) have asbestos in their construction. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-demolishing-a-building-and-hosing-it-down/194543/4 "2003-08-12T15:23:36Z")
One would like to think a house would have been checked for asbestos, and if any is found, it would be remediated (removed) before the house was demolished. Of course, if this was such a small-scale operation that they were using a garden hose instead of a water truck, they might not have bothered. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-demolishing-a-building-and-hosing-it-down/194543/5 "2003-08-12T17:23:31Z")
According to my environmental engineer, all friable asbestos must be removed from a structure prior to demolition. Non-friable asbestos can be left in place, but is generally kept wet during demolition. National emission standards actually require that there are NO emissions (whether asbestos or not) from a building under demolition. I’m not sure how the rules apply when a building is taken down using explosives, since there is always that big plume when it happens. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-demolishing-a-building-and-hosing-it-down/194543/6 "2003-08-12T18:35:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > \*\*Especially since many older buildings (and even some newer ones) have asbestos in their construction. \*\* I don’t think that a building with friable asbestos can be torn down unless there has been total abatement.