Monday, November 26, 2012

Neighborhood Demolition: Part III

Just when I thought it was basically done and over with, NOOOO, they weren't done.  In fact, after sending Jeroen (a.k.a. Hoomer, the demolition man, not Astrid's son) the links to my last demolition posts, he wrote back and said, "Please don't stop taking pictures.  Did you see the big machine out there now?!"

That machine spits out the metal, crushes the concrete, and grinds it down to gravel.
 It's then sold to companies that use it, for instance, to build the surface layers of roads.

See, my education was not finished!

Another steam shovel came in to do this part of the job.
Another steam shovel; another company; another process.

 See how it keeps that gravel-crusher moving.  Garbage in, gravel out.
And that's our senior apartment complex in the background...our back side.

In fact, some of these pictures I took of the bulldozer from our 2nd-floor balcony.
Our parking garage is there in the background, just a stone's-throw away.
Talk about a front-row seat!

I'd walk back-n-forth from our apartment and the garage to get different perspectives.
And yes, that's Hoomer/Jeroen visiting the bulldozer driver.

That little bulldozer was a little workhorse.
As soon as one huge truck was filled up with the gravel, another backed in to take its place.
Day in and day out for over a week!

Now, here's a treat for you from Astrid, who took all these following images:

During the week, Astrid works, of course, so she was the one who took the night shots.
Apparently that gravel-crusher is expensive to rent, so they worked late.
She took these from the parking garage, looking back on our aparment complex and city.
See our Grote Kerk there in the background (middle right)!

She even caught them changing the crushing blades.
Those steam-shovel operators can pick up toothpicks, I think!

Then on a Sunday Astrid went "trespassing."
She told me she found an opening in the fence...just like someone else, apparently.
That gravel-crusher is humongous.  It's a beast!

As compared to this cutie-pie bulldozer, at rest on a gorgeous day.

Thank you, Astrid, for your fabulous addition to this photo-journalistic project.
And NOW I think the demolition is done.  
What's left is the leveling, grading and grass-planting?

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

After all that, it's my turn at Vision and Verb again, following the Thanksgiving weekend.  It's about what I do when I can't be home for the holidays!

For one thing, we drove to Antwerp, Belgium, an hour away, and spent an overnight there to see the city up close and personal.  But more on that next week....  

12 comments:

  1. The photos are great, yours and Astrid's. I am happy to see them grinding up and using every bit.

    How late do they work at night? Good thing there are earplugs for early bedders like me. :)

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    1. Thanks, Ruth. I love that I can use the images Astrid takes!

      They worked at night till about 7 or 8, I think, and for only 2 weeks. They probably worked 12-hour days. I do remember that they also started at 7 a.m. whereas on the rest of the project it was 8 a.m.

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  2. What amazing machinery, it was really interesting seeing the pictures of the concrete crusher and gravel spitter outer. There has been demolition work going on near us and though I haven't seen a machine like this in action, I have noticed the results. The site was transformed so quickly that it is now hard to think of there being buildings on it just a few weeks ago.

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    1. The whole process from beginning to end has been quite an education, Anne. It's hard to believe all those buildings are now...history!

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  3. That was a big job they did. Amazing how 'clean' they worked. No gravel on the roads. It was so fascinating to see those big machines and yes, I love to trespass :)
    The night pictures turned out well. Thank you for using them.
    Now we will wait ans sit back and see the grass grow.
    Wonder how long it will take before they start building houses again.
    Jeroen (Hoomer) will be very happy with this post, you did a great job.

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    1. Ohhhh, thank you, MLMA. I am so glad Jeroen alerted us to this last part of the process. I would have hated missing this part of the documentary! And I just LOVE that I could use so many of your photos. THANK YOU.

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  4. These are some powerful machines. I bet you had never seen them up so close. The last time I went by destruction machinery was in New York City but then they were behind high wooden walls and it was hard to take a look. I like the bright golden yellow colors of these giants; it goes well with autumn foliage.

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    1. We really do feel lucky, Vagabonde. Some of these photos are taken from our back balcony. We could throw a stone and hit one of these machines (which we wouldn't do, of course!). And yes, the fall foliage was a perfect accessory for the job at hand!

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  5. Your enthusiasm is inspiring, Ginnie. Who would have thought that one can take so many pictures of bulldozers and other construction equipment. These pictures are awesome, but I also can imagine the noise that comes with it, and I wouldn't like that! Sometimes all the leaf blowers around me are already too much for me!

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    1. Surprisingly, Carola, the noise has been hardly nothing at all. I can't explain it but it's true. Nothing that has bothered us. If anything, the minimal noise tells me when I need to go get my camera and shoot something new. It has been most entertaining, to be honest.

      Thanks for your kind compliment!

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  6. ...your backside never looked so good :) Ha! Hey, are they going to plant grass - that would be lovely. The glowing yellow building in the background is stunning. What is it? I'm sure you know :)

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    1. Yes, Margaret, they're gonna plant grass for until they have the money to rebuild new apartments. Who knows when that will be! And that building in the background is our Grote Kerk on the city square just two blocks from where we live!

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