School Building Demolition — Stella Maris, Shellharbour
| Location | Stella Maris Catholic School, Shellharbour |
|---|---|
| Client | Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong |
| Completed | September 2025 |
| Scope | Demolition of a single-storey brick and tile building, a temporary building, a covered walkway and concrete hardstands; site levelled |
| Recycled | Around 85% of material by weight |
The Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong engaged DemoEx to demolish an old single-storey brick and tile building at Stella Maris Catholic School in Shellharbour, along with a temporary building, a covered walkway and the concrete hardstands around them.
Working beside an operating school
The school stayed open for the whole job. We separated the work area from the school with temporary fencing and set up our own site entry, so our trucks and machines never shared access with students, staff or parents. SafeWork NSW and the neighbours were notified in writing before work started, and a site-specific demolition control plan was in place for the duration.
Strip-out first
Before any machine work, our crew cleared out the furniture and contents and stripped the building back to its frame. The roof tiles came off next and went to recycling.
An unexpected asbestos find
During the strip-out, our crew found vinyl floor tiles and bituminous underlay in the music room that hadn’t been identified before the job. Work in that area stopped and samples went to an accredited laboratory, which confirmed chrysotile asbestos. DemoEx holds its own Class B asbestos removal licence (AD214187), so our crew removed it under our own licence before demolition carried on.
Demolition and recycling
With the building stripped and the asbestos gone, we demolished the frame, the covered walkway and the temporary building, then broke out the concrete hardstands. Everything was separated on site so it could be recycled. The weighbridge dockets show:
- About 127 tonnes of concrete, brick and roof tile to a recycling facility
- About 9 tonnes of timber to an organics recycler
- 2.3 tonnes of steel to a metal recycler
That’s around 85% of everything that left the site, by weight.
The result
The building, walkway and hardstands gone, holes filled and the site bladed off level, ready to hand back to the school.
Planning demolition at a school or on a site that has to stay open? Call 0457 336 639 for a free quote.
