Old school gym completely demolished by Caterpillar excavator

[@HomeWreckerBrian]

Hey guys, what was your favorite part of the demolition? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

[@mackhopper]

Honestly, this video made me a little sad and wistful. This gym was just so familiar to my memories and settings from my childhood. I enjoyed watching the demolition, but at the same time, I hated to see it go. And, my favorite part of the demolition was the collapse of the massive wall of bricks…and how it looked effortless on your part. By the way, School Wrecker, what is that octagonal (or circular) structure in the distance at the 19:50 mark? I noticed this interesting building in your last video.

[@txviking]

Many years ago, I almost had the opportunity to demolish a school. I don't work in demolition, but I'd gotten to know an operator, and he had offered to let me have a go at it. The building was empty, there was nothing but parking lot and playground nearby, and not much risk. Unfortunately, the demolition permit was not issued in time. I got a chance to drive the excavator and sort some of the rubble into dumpsters from a previously demolished building (one for brick, another for mixed debris and a separate pile for metal.) But I didn't get to knock down the empty school building that was right there in front of me. That was 2004; demolishing a building with an excavator has been on my bucket list ever since.

[@HomeWreckerBrian]

@@mackhopper That's an old water tower that was built in 1931. I talked to a couple of different people who went to this school back in the 60s and 70s. They said that the water tower was the designated meeting place for fights. Haha.

[@Thatweirdo_]

I really liked the inside shots if you could incorperate more of those in your demo vids that would be awsome!

[@mackhopper]

@@HomeWreckerBrianNice! It is a really cool structure.

[@Rhino-mt1rf]

Imagine all the History that Gym saw. Kids growing up, fun games, dances, shows, etc...

[@woozleboy]

A lot of heavy wood doors worth quite a bit on the salvage market lost there. Sad to see nothing was reclaimed.

[@paulkelly1702]

Commercial buildings mostly have steel doors. They reclaim what they can I'm sure. Recycling pays, especially with the volume seen here.

[@dogmannz]

Nope they won't have saved anything. All of it went to the tip. They didn't even salvage the bricks. Had they done they would have knocked the exterior down keeping the wood and internals separated so they could scrape the bricks up into trucks. The doors you speak of would have had gouges and scratches, all the dings of a long hard life especially in a gym with all the equipment inside gyms being constantly banged into them. The goal rings and stands still mounted to the ceiling would have been worth saving. But they didn't. Because selling that stuff was not their core business. They make their money out of knocking it down and clearing the site. That's all. @@paulkelly1702

[@pauljefferies9087]

Yep. Better than most doors, couldn’t buy those.

[@thetazva]

@@paulkelly1702 No they don't, schools especially on the interior are mostly wood doors, steel doors are used mainly for the exterior and maintenance areas.

[@MowTheLawnWithMe]

Sad to see all the backboards go without being reused

[@rumbler900]

those silver coolicon lites on ceiling are worth a lot in uk and europe about 600 sterling each with galleries ( the bit that holds the bulb)

[@makeshiftlake3519]

I’m surprised at how much was left inside… the bleachers, the basketball hoops, the scoreboard, the lights? All of that could’ve been reused or at least sold off to people who could use it

[@cknorris3644]

Politics. They tore down our local JR High gym that had a rich history behind it and people tried to buy things from it. They wouldn't let anyone.

[@janschroder1559]

Nobody gives a shit these days

[@simpsonizer]

@@cknorris3644 Definatly a scorched earth policy! It's a shame this crap is going on today. You know how cool it would be to own stuff like this> I love basketball so this makes me cringe lol.... Anyway, after hearing that, it's all about these mindless burocrats pushing through funds to toss away the past and things that were desined better even. It is bad in this side of the world we are so wasteful! We are doomed to repeat history. It shpws you one of two things, yes time = money but what a evil thing to do is ban people from offering money to haul it away from you! All this BS we are put through in school anyway was in vain...

[@chrisstromberg6527]

That’s BS, we have auction sites here in WI with everything from busses to desks to gym floors being auctioned off. What an absolute waste not to recycle or resell some of that . How in the hell could you not take down the US flag , what a disgrace!

[@doomed-y3s]

they never heard of reusing stuff thats totally new for them but you can expect that there.

[@bettyprice6316]

I agree, the inside shots are great, and I also like the sound of demolition, especially smashing glass.

[@spamanator666]

Amazing how much was left inside. People love to have those lockable baskets in their houses or garages as a funky but functional storage display, and all the hoops and backboards, scoreboards, lights, bleachers, all just destroyed.

[@krwd]

they don't care in this country the kids must have the coolest schools too bad we do such an abysmal job at educating them its all show and no go

[@Minacious_Shenanigans]

@@krwd so true bestie

[@Thisoldhiker]

Scrap metal prices are high, and labor is expensive. If it paid off, the general contractor would have salvaged those items.

[@rymsharman]

Ah yes, everyone’s favorite home decor: metal baskets that held 40 years of unwashed middle school gym clothes

[@steadholderharrington9035]

@@Thisoldhiker Just for those complete mercury-vapour lights in the ceiling would have netted $28,700.00USD on the UK market. Idk about you, but I seriously doubt that the scrap yards would pay that much for what little metal those lights actually contained; not even by a ¼ as much!

[@THEWRENCH343]

That brick and block crumbled like it had no mortar. That gym wouldn't last long in a seismic zone. Gave me chills thinking about all the folks that would pack inside for a game. GREAT VIDEO!

[@BigDan12]

Yeah me too, it made me blow a load in my pants thinking about it

[@25vrd48]

Hope the brick and blocks get salvaged and reused . I used to be in the Antique Brick Business and sold about 2 million brick a year . I see a lot of videos of really old buildings being torn down and they have the old bricks dating back when the mortor was a lot softer and when the brick would fall the brick were pretty well clean enough to stack on pallets . I bought a lot of brick by the box car load out of St. Louis and Chicago . Couldn't get them fast enough for the home builders as the housing market was hotter hell . We tore a bunch of buildings down and got a lot of really nice brick that were really popular . Great video , Thanks for posting .

[@very5ick112]

mostly got recycled , yeah right

[@steadholderharrington9035]

@@very5ick112 Recycled straight back into the earth, at wherever the local demolition landfill is I bet!

[@Thujaplicata1]

I liked watching the excavator take the brick wall down, big sections falling. The inside view with all the ceiling tiles falling was excellent and should be used in a compilation of your best shots. Also, watching the excavator remove an entire truss in one move was a really good show of skill and power. The operator is thoughtful, slow (a good thing), and methodical. This is the best demolition channel on KZbin by far, also, your voice intros are excellent, almost no one does them! Keep up the good work and stay safe. Thank you for taking the time to make these videos, it brings a lot of enjoyment to guys like me.

[@HomeWreckerBrian]

Yeah, that front brick wall was awesome! Thank you so much for your incredibly kind words. That's a great idea about the compilation too, I might have to work on that.

[@Morristownrailfanningemergency]

I just like it because it’s part of a school

[@taralancaster7987]

I didn't order a yapuccino

[@turdferguson82]

The inside camera was awesome. Not too often you get to see some demo being done from that POV.

[@dannyisaacs3877]

The inside camera was awesome. Not too often you get to see some demo being done from that POV. and Very well done. I enjoyed the inside shots as you normally don't see them on demo videos.

[@rogerribert5811]

Very well done. I enjoyed the inside shots as you normally don't see them on demo videos.

[@ROBERT-hz3nb]

I'AM SURPRISED THE LIGHT FIXTURES ,DOORS, THE AM. FLAG WERE NOT TAKEN AWAY FIRST.

[@BajaFL]

I wondered the same thing. So, the American flag was thrown out like garbage?

[@janschroder1559]

Bastards

[@dirtydish6642]

@@BajaFL Might have to buy a new one from China?

[@BajaFL]

@@dirtydish6642Sadly that is the state of things. Is anything "American" anymore?

[@jcamisa50]

To bad its down. Nice bricks , could have recycled them some how.😮 alot of memories in that gym, basketball games, possibly dances, pep rallies, graduation and every day gym classes.

[@HomeWreckerBrian]

A lot of people who went to that school would stop by while we were demoing it. They would ask for bricks, and we would always help them out. It was such an easy way to make somebody's day!

[@s3rye306]

When my city tore down 3 highscools, they had a dumpster full of briks people can take at each site. When the city put in 1 massive high school, they built a brick wall with all the different school bricks. Across from it is each of the old high school sports achievements and photos.

[@dismantling-LK]

Glad to welcome you! Great video, thanks) And my team and I are engaged in demolition and dismantling of houses and clearing of sites. You could say we make beauty.

[@mackhopper]

The School Wrecker is back!!! Another enjoyable video, buddy.😢 Man, I grew up in gymnasiums like this one. I could smell that place as you gave us a quick tour. Inside. I also got a good chuckle when I saw the old basket lockers…I remember those. You couldn’t hide anything in those dang things! That internal green ceramic brick is fantastic - so mid-century! Do me a favor and save a couple of truckloads of that for me! 😂 Please? It’s kind of a sad shame that the old “school mascot iconography” wasn’t salvaged off the wall and placed into the new facility. It was impressive watching that wall of bricks cascading to the ground - especially the top curve. Wow, they designed the walls of this gym with three layers - external brick, cater blocks and internal brick? Dang! And, once again, I can see that this school district doesn’t care about salvaging their chairs! LOL. this is weird to me because our local school district accounts for all supplies and salvages every desk and chair. I’m also really surprised that the school isn’t saving the scoreboard. Speaking of salvage, what are your plans for the two salvaged basketball goals???

[@RobertodelaVega-t3w]

There were lot of items that could have been salvaged, the ceiling lamps for one... the steel doors, the bleachers.

[@jdcunnington]

Reminds me of the demolition of my old lower high school (frosh & soph years). IL law changed that it was no longer exempted from asbestos rules. The student population had dropped such that it hadn't been used in 30 years. It was all cinderblock, so setting up wifi, they would have needed an access point in every room. In addition, two of the three boilers were done. Since asbestos mitigation had to be done regardless, the decision was made to drop the building. The 1961 expansion building was kept and expanded however, and is now the new "cool school", surpassing the campus that opened in 1974 that in my time had housed the upper classmen.

[@josh8344]

Interesting job, and good work, I just hate the fact that the structure you were tasked to take down probably oils have outlasted the new school. 😅

[@opeyshop]

wonder if still hear Lassie barking on the second floor

[@chev500l8]

Damn!, that wall went quick even the roof was buckling when the slabs were going down.

[@Rockin_Roll]

Why is hose guy spraying the side of the building... And NOT the clouds of dust

[@robertc8134]

Aesbestos.

[@steadholderharrington9035]

@@robertc8134 Already removed apparently. Thats why the flooring is missing.

[@pyeltd.5457]

To make the building softer and weaker so the CAT can bring it down with eaze.

[@paulkelly1702]

I got hooked on Lets Dig 18 when he was tearing down buildings and trailers. Got you channel on the suggested stuff. Subscribed in an instant!

[@DavidmillerMatthew]

What a cool view of inside the gym i enjoyed watching your I like your videos a lot keep making great videos

[@sjcnz48]

Great Video, I love the bricks falling, looked Great, Hope the can be recycled.

[@nickchannel5364]

Those hi bay lights were valuable.

[@malikdigger4544]

Before u guys demolished that gym did anybody saved those wall hang basketball hoop racks & the bleachers looked to be amazing shape also mannn theirs alot of good bricks to be still useful.

[@ryanglaser5336]

He said 2 hoops were able to be pulled for salvage

[@t23001]

Demo is getting pretty sophisticated these days. In NJ masonry, treated lumber, lumber, metals, dirt, and vegetation all go to separate recycling streams. The masonry becomes paver base, and patio or retaining wall blocks.

[@oifivguy]

The entire video is my FAV!!!

[@bradpiovesan8550]

Lots of good times had in that gym I’m sure. Wonder if the floor was salvageable even with asbestos’s mastic undercoating?

[@ryanglaser5336]

Nah

[@ryanglaser5336]

Likely mercury in those lights

[@DavidMiller-qu2sr]

What a cool video i enjoy watching your videos keep making great videos I like your videos a lot keep making great videos I like your videos

[@iananderson8363]

Geez! Wood frame houses put up more of a fight than this place did. She did not want to stand anymore.

[@jamescampbell7780]

Great job, well done, now for the separation process!

[@KyleMorpheus]

Water hose guy was taking a nap lol

[@pauloconnor2980]

That's the first time I've seen a brick wall demolished from the ground up!!!!

[@thetazva]

They definitely should have removed the US flag.

[@_-_-_-Prof.BoskoBiathi-_-_-_]

Why??.maybe its old and raggy. Or i dont know the background, please tell me.regards ..

[@matchboxcarstoys]

Yes, it is disrespectful.

[@robertchauvin486]

Did yall take the whole school down ? Or just part of it.

[@dodge33445]

Let me get one of those goals :)

[@davidadamcik9805]

All of you guys be safe out there and I love your videos

[@johnkeviljr9625]

Hi. Just a question: The roof rafters over the bowstring steel trusses looked to be about 3x10. At what point do they become salvageable? Thx.

[@Jannik_Stein]

The same will happen to our school gym sometime in autumn.. well, my sadness is limited haha

[@dalecollins-smith3551]

There are so many underprivileged schools who would love those basketball hoops and the lighting. Such a waste

[@V24690]

They are old though the basketball hoops hang on the ceiling probably all the lights are burned out everything not good in there just trash

[@MattyDardani]

When I used to do demo we would rip everything out sell what we can. All metal went to scrap all concrete and brick got crushed and sold as aggregate the only stuff we would haul to the dump was the building materials not salvage able. You can do demo in a way that makes a good deal of money on top of the contract.

[@markreetz1001]

You said to leave lots of questions and comments. Well I would like to know if you know if there was any effort to reuse or salvage any of the useful things mentioned in the comments? You were in the demolition, but just wondering if anyone did anything to use the useable?

[@haweater1555]

Were those bleachers made out of hardwood or aluminum? Either way those were worth dragging out and salvaging.

[@tanfanhvac]

That is a nice new school!

[@jamesadams893]

Great place to put the camera, about 6 miles from the action. Makes it easy to see what's going on

[@codyave]

You ever seen the youtube videos where the excavator uses a 20' I-beam to gain extra distance for hard-to-reach areas? Just the tall gym made me think of that.

[@stevenherrold5955]

i don't know anything about where this is but my first thought at the beginning of the video that is a fairly decent looking building lots a places would kill to have that in their community

[@JayShort92]

First time watcher on these videos, you got me hooked! Completley hooked. Question tho, do you guys get to keep all the scrap metal and such, or does that just go just go off and on it's way.

[@guntherultraboltnovacrunch5248]

Those Glass backboards seemed to be worth A LOT. Why not grab a ladder and take them down before tearing the place down?

[@clarasalsbury2881]

Never in my 50 years of employment (much of it as a heavy equipment operator) did I have a job that I could work so slowly at!

[@kenlund9671]

Nah, it's not a good idea to try to open doors with a excavator 😄. These amazing machines. Fun to see the interior both before and during the demolition. This was a very good video, thanks.

[@jaimeduncan6167]

Great videos. How is it that such a big building has almost no rebar?

[@ClarkBR549]

I'm sure someone would've loved to have that scoreboard.

[@MrJeep75]

Why did you had to take footing out

[@SHADOWTHEHEDGEHOG2024SHADOW]

I could be wrong but that old gym could've been used as shelter for the hurricane relief thing due to its size

[@daviddamico4288]

Nice work.

[@mattheweveleigh6351]

Do you ever do asbestos samples when doing old buildings before the tear down?

[@jaycep25]

hey brother I would love to get in contact with you. I own a demolition company down here in Florida. I wanna see what steps you took to get to the next level

[@Mcseverythingoutdoors]

OSHA will love this no hard hat video

[@nathanjoerndt8804]

think of all the basketball games, pep rallys anything and everything tht was in that gym!!!! crazy!

[@ianboard544]

I would have started with the principal's office.

[@thatguyisbackagain]

You could donate a few of those backboard assemblies to community organizations, and possibly sell the rest.

[@ericcapps9099]

How many days did it take from start to end?

[@GhostlyMeows]

Doing this without window guards was a bold move ahaha.

[@viktorakhmedov3442]

That's a shame, it had such a classic "school gym" look to it but nothing lasts forever.

[@AJDeere]

This is awesome! I hate gym class!

[@brenrob7403]

Question where does all the brick go? Can any of it be recycled or is it just thrown in a landfill?

[@blower1]

Now that's a lotta damage!

[@jrand2631]

Oh dang, tht brought a tear to my eyes. I was sent back to my old high school gym being demolished in the late 90s. It was 50 years old, build right after WWII in 1948. It was meant to last max. two and a half decades, but stood strong for 50 years, along with the rest of the school complex, before they decided to demolish it because of excessive use of asbestos. I spend many many happy hours with my classmates and my friends in that gym, so when they finally tore it down, it really got to me. 🥲

[@buddycarroll9665]

Love these videos..

[@jamessmith7691]

Good job very methodical.

[@MrJeep75]

Probably getting some more dam houses built there

[@ericdaniel7069]

Is there some sort of law that requires you to hose the dust down?

[@jimsmith9819]

yes, its a law ericdaniel

[@ryanglaser5336]

They don't always do it where it is not required by law

[@Wyatt_K]

this looks like a sweet job to have

[@wsbnews4270]

But again, super cool- just wish we could chat easier than on youtube; i work for BERG Demolition in Washington, DC.

[@HomeWreckerBrian]

That's awesome, man! You guys probably tear down some pretty cool buildings. Feel free to email me anytime! I check my email all the time, so I'll definitely see it. [e-mail]

[@wsbnews4270]

@@HomeWreckerBrian I was thinking I could set up one for you- a chat server; if you're ok with that.

[@ROBERT-hz3nb]

AT ONE TIME THAT WAS A LARGE JOB FOR BRICK LAYERS AND MASONS ! ! !

[@superhawk20002]

Crazy to think about how long things take to build, and how little time it takes to destroy it.

[@wolfpacva]

Hope you took out the American flag before you tore the gym down.

[@EmergencyGuy]

The flag probably came out off camera along with the bleachers.

[@FemboyEngineer]

Not necessary. Just because something is printed on and designed to resemble the North American flag, this doesn’t reflect.

[@GW71093]

Who cares about a shitty cheap little flag lmao

[@iananderson8363]

@@FemboyEngineerIt’s the American flag, not the “North American Flag.” Do Canada and Mexico not exist?

[@jamestorrens645]

Reminds me of when my high school was demolished...

[@Ronnocbot]

19:59 Why was there a layer of drywall partitioning the space above the ceiling on the rafter? I find that pretty interesting.

[@PhilBilly13]

Possibly a fire wall

[@jimsmith9819]

it is@@PhilBilly13

[@christhiansanchez8673]

What size is the caterpillar, 20 ton ?

[@phuturephunk]

So do they like, use all the brick and CMU's for recycling? Can they use that stuff as aggregate in new concrete?

[@paulthesoundguy1]

Most new constructions standards for concrete won’t allow this material to be ground up

[@mark77193]

In my area, its usually crushed and used as a fill/basecourse material beneath concrete floors, parking areas etc. Not normally used in new structural concrete, but is used in concrete for landscaping uses like setting posts, pavers etc.

[@skinmaxdestroyer]

Great vid, nice job !

[@brucemartini2288]

job is no sweat, building literally tearing it'self apart😆

[@bryandinardi2519]

Water used to keep the dust down?

[@IceTheFanDude]

What is the school called

[@mm2024-7]

Are you just filming or are you actually in the excavator?

[@craigw.miller9820]

That Cat makes the gym look kind of flimsy, operator skill and power applied at the right spots make it come down pretty easy. .Too bad you didn't salvage the old scoreboard, some sports bar would have loved to have it on their wall.

[@Uncle_Jon]

Sooo many experts here😂

[@jackgaul7376]

I would have tried to save the basketball hoops and back boards

[@paul_in_tucson2808]

It looks like you guys may have salvaged the scoreboard. ???

[@ZorroLinoBerto]

Very nice! 🎉

[@bobcriss600]

Man o man…it’d be great to live nearby and get some of that old wood (if that were possible) and repurpose it for some sort of table or bookshelf or something… workbench maybe…. And all those blocks and bricks! Wow! Could build several small houses with that many!

[@throughmyeyes8868]

I am completely visually impaired. Would any of you have connections in the Boise area? Would love to be able to check out an excavator. 25:40

[@DavidSellars-b8l]

With all the salvageable materials not being salvaged, was anyone respectful enough to remove the American flag first?

[@ScottKooreman]

Was thinking the same thing. Hope they saved it

[@ryanglaser5336]

Looks like they went straight to work after that final walk-through

[@pauljefferies9087]

Joke reply, NAH, can’t get no money for them thangs, at the salvage yard.

[@luisschmelz4115]

Thats exactly what i was thinking

[@pauljefferies9087]

This post referred to the wrecked car, not the flag.