I'm doing a little demolition work at our church removing some permanent risers in the choir practice room. They don't practice in there and removing the risers will make the room more useful for other things. So last week we removed the plywood flooring and the 2x6 steel studs used for the joists. We're left with the structure supporting the joists, see photo. They are WELL anchored to the floor with powder driven anchors, and a lot of them. For added fun the structure is welded in places, including for whatever reason, welding the outboard joists to the steel wall studs.
We're attacking what's left on Saturday. My thoughts are to use an angle grinder to cut off the tops of the concrete anchors. Then we need to cut up the beams to allow easier handling and eventual transport to the scrap dealer. So I'd like to cut them up into pieces 6-8 feet long. Any thoughts on the best way to do it? I picked up some metal cutting blades for a circular saw, and I have additional blades for the angle grinder, and hacksaw blades for a saws-all. I've thought about getting one of these: 14 gauge 4 Amp Heavy Duty Metal Shears If it can handle cutting through the bends of a steel stud. Another volunteer measured the metal and it is 16 gauge. The tool is rated for 14 gauge, so at least on the straight cuts it would be OK. If the tool dies after I'm done, I'm OK with that. I don't have a lot of use for metal shears, though once I own one, you can never tell. I'd love to get a Jaws of Life, but I don't see one at Sun Belt rentals and I doubt the fire department will step up to this project.
Any thoughts?
We're attacking what's left on Saturday. My thoughts are to use an angle grinder to cut off the tops of the concrete anchors. Then we need to cut up the beams to allow easier handling and eventual transport to the scrap dealer. So I'd like to cut them up into pieces 6-8 feet long. Any thoughts on the best way to do it? I picked up some metal cutting blades for a circular saw, and I have additional blades for the angle grinder, and hacksaw blades for a saws-all. I've thought about getting one of these: 14 gauge 4 Amp Heavy Duty Metal Shears If it can handle cutting through the bends of a steel stud. Another volunteer measured the metal and it is 16 gauge. The tool is rated for 14 gauge, so at least on the straight cuts it would be OK. If the tool dies after I'm done, I'm OK with that. I don't have a lot of use for metal shears, though once I own one, you can never tell. I'd love to get a Jaws of Life, but I don't see one at Sun Belt rentals and I doubt the fire department will step up to this project.
Any thoughts?