Must Services in Melbourne Be Isolated Before Works Start on Demolition Sites?
A good place to start is - if a service is required during the demolition process it must be protected and made safe. If it is not required it must be isolated.
This can be a little more complex when a service will be required after the strip out is complete and the service will be included as part of the following planned fit out. This is particularly the case in refurbishments or refitting commercial spaces.
The services that may come under this heading are:
- Electricity
- Gas
- Incoming water supply
- On-site stored water tanks
- Telephone/Broadband
- Sewerage/Drainage
Why not just cut the service off and reconnect later?
If the services are useful during the demolition stage, a temporary supply can be established. This can be used during the works. It can be particularly useful to have an on-site water, drainage, electrical or broadband service.
Does isolated mean ‘cut off’?
NO. Isolated in the services context means to separate from the building site area. The service is available to your site but the internal connections wires, pipes etc. are not powered or are ‘made safe’.
Why not cut off the services and reinstate them as needed on completion of the works?
Services are often installed in ducts or under the surface so the new services will be required at an early stage of rebuilding. There will be a cost associated with termination and a larger cost associated with a new service. You will have to unnecessarily interact with public infrastructure providers within this process which will always be protracted and expensive.
First cut back the existing services to a ‘safe point’. Identify each individual entry position to the property and cut it off as close as you can to this point. If you require this service in the future, it should be left available to be repowered or reinstated. If it is not required in the new building it can be permanently terminated.
Dealings with infrastructure service providers can be fraught and difficult without and planned information led approach.
Give Mark a call and he will include these tasks as part of his works package.
