A badly damaged West Auckland property that has been at risk of collapse for months is being demolished as its owners watch. Video / NZ Herald
A badly slip-damaged West Auckland property that has been at risk of collapse for months has been destroyed in a dramatic controlled demolition this morning.
Owners of the Scenic Drive property in Swanson watched as their family home was violently pulled to the ground by a digger.
The house has been red-stickered after a large slip behind the property following two weather disasters that struck Auckland this year. Tonnes of earth and foliage had pushed the house off its foundations, with creaking sounds coming from the house yesterday after further subsidence put it at imminent risk of collapse.
Contractors moved on to the site just before 11am today to begin demolition after geotechnical reports confirmed the house could be brought down safely.
Auckland Council manager compliance Adrian Wilson earlier told the Herald the crew would use a digger to attack the house from its upper level. They would apply pressure to the upper storey and expected it to give way on itself very quickly due to the level of damage.
The red-stickered house in Scenic Drive in West Auckland is demolished. Photo / Dean Purcell
Wilson expected the demolition to take only about 15 minutes, saying workers were trying to tear it down without damaging the two red-stickered homes on either side.
A small crowd gathered to watch and take photographs as the digger began to tear down the property’s roof and upper left floor in glorious sunshine.
Clouds of dust blew into the air and loud smashing sounds could be heard as the property was ripped apart, collapsing onto itself in a huge pile of debris.
Owners Grant Fraser and his partner looked on as internal rooms were exposed, with one commenting “that’s the bedroom door and the linen cupboard”, then joking “is that to take a final reading” when a worker retrieved their electricity meter from the rubble.
The demolition process took longer than expected. After about 45 minutes, work paused so the owners could walk beyond the cordon and supervise as workers entered the lower garage to retrieve personal belongings.
Fraser grabbed a skateboard. Other saved items included a wine rack, cat cage, chair, gas bottle, artwork and various boxes and coathangers.
Locals watch as the damaged house is torn down. Photo / Dean Purcell
Wilson told the Herald the house was stronger than anticipated so had taken longer to demolish.
“It was holding quite steady so it’s obviously a well-built house.”
The work had otherwise gone to plan, with the property being brought down in stages, “layer by layer”.
He said it was good to get access to the garage so the owners could retrieve a few personal things.
“These are people’s properties that they’ve built and lived in and had their kids grow up in.
“They were aware this was going to happen at some point and it was just a situation of when.”
Wilson said contractors would remove most of the building debris today and it was hoped Scenic Rd would reopen soon after.
The house began to collapse on itself after heavy rain on Tuesday, forcing the evacuation of a nearby home and road closures.
Wilson said the property owners and their insurer had agreed to the demolition.
The three-storey home had already been sandwiched onto itself and shunted to the side. Cracking and creaking could be heard coming from the house as it continued to shift.
A large section of the cliff face behind had given way and smashed into the rear of the house, bringing tonnes of rubble, mud and foliage.
Smashed decking lay in twisted ruin and a large tree had snapped and was leaning against the property’s roof.
The house was collapsing as the land slipped beneath it. Photo / Dean Purcell
A property next to the home is also badly damaged, while a third red-stickered home is cordoned off but appears to be relatively unscathed.
Another said, “It was going to have to be knocked down anyway so now it’s halfway there”.
Another man said he photographed the property on Tuesday and was amazed by how much it had moved in less than 24 hours.
He heard a “huge crack” as he photographed the damage. “I almost crapped myself.”
Speaking to NZME earlier in the week, Wilson said two properties on either side of the collapsing home had also been red-stickered and all three had been vacant for some time. A neighbouring property was evacuated on Tuesday night as a precaution.
He said geotechnical experts assessed Fraser’s property after movement was detected last week, with demolition companies also involved.
Initial slumping of the property had got worse, Wilson said.
“Auckland Council has been monitoring the houses on Scenic Drive since the original slip following the flood and cyclone. Our main concern this morning is the safety of members of the public, and fencing and concrete barricades are in place. We alerted Fire and Emergency New Zealand [Fenz] and Auckland Transport to the risk at the property late last week.
Part of Scenic Drive, Swanson, was closed as a precaution. Photo / Dean Purcell
“Our monitoring identified that the empty house at 1181 Scenic Drive began to move last week, and was at risk of potential collapse. We engaged engineers to assess the property from a structural and geotechnical perspective. The house was not immediately demolished due to concerns that removing it could worsen the slip behind the property and potentially risk the safety of a demolition team, neighbouring properties, or the road.”
The property at 1181 Scenic Drive in Swanson, pictured in January. Photo / Google Maps
Wilson said he felt for the Fraser family.
“Obviously this is quite a sad event for them because there’s very little opportunity to go back into the house and recover any of their own possessions.”
Asked if there was a similar risk to damaged homes in other areas after recent rain, Wilson said teams were assessing other red-stickered properties to see if they also risked collapsing and demolishing some.
“This was probably the one that was up there in terms of needing some immediate action, the others less so. As you can imagine, we’ve got a lot of red-placarded properties, but not all of them are going to collapse.”
