Code of Practice for Demolition of Buildings

Issued by the Buildings Department (BD) of the HKSAR Government, this master statutory code of practice sets out safe, standardized engineering guidelines and legal requirements for planning, supervising, and executing building demolition works in Hong Kong under the Building (Administration) Regulations and Building (Demolition Works) Regulations. The code covers: (1) Planning procedures including building surveys, structural appraisals, demolition plans, stability reports, utility disconnections, and hazardous material handling (asbestos and soil contamination); (2) Precautionary protection measures such as hoardings, covered walkways, catch platforms, bamboo/steel catchfans, scaffolding screen covers, temporary propping systems, party wall protection, traffic impact, and environmental controls (dust, noise, vibration); (3) Demolition methodologies including top-down manual methods, top-down mechanical plant demolition, long-boom hydraulic crushers, wire saw cutting, wrecking balls, and implosion/blasting; (4) Special structure demolition protocols (precast/prestressed concrete, cantilevered slabs/balconies, composite steel, hanging structures, underground tanks, and slope-supported buildings); and (5) Resident site supervision requirements for complex structural demolitions. It is an indispensable statutory reference for Registered Structural Engineers (RSEs), Authorized Persons (APs), Registered Specialist Contractors (Demolition), civil engineers, quantity surveyors, building surveyors, and university students studying structural engineering, demolition technology, and site safety management in Hong Kong.