Why TV Renovation Shows Get Sledgehammer Demolition Completely Wrong
The sledgehammer moment has become a classic home renovation scene. Plenty of homeowners, celebrities, and TV carpenters have wielded an 8-pound or heavier beast, throwing it into drywall and kitchen cabinets to mark the start of the TV project transformation. And while the sledgehammer-swinger and on-camera entourage cheers with excitement, I sit on my sofa and cringe for the viewers who don’t know that’s never how a professional remodeler demos a room. Here's why you see sledgehammers used for demolition on TV all the time, and what you need to know to use one for your DIY projects properly like the pros.
Sledgehammers Make for Good TV
As HGTV and DIY Network were becoming before-and-after TV, some TV producers stumbled upon the drama of the sledgehammer smashing into drywall. And for whatever reason, viewers think it’s cool. It makes the complex look simple. However, it’s not the smartest way to demo. On real job sites, demo is like reverse surgery. We pick apart the room in reverse order of construction with rip claw hammers, pry-bars, reciprocating saws, and impact drivers. It’s methodical and inherently messy, so pros try to minimize the mess and contain any potential chaos. Sledgehammers introduce more chaos.
A Sledgehammer Is Harder to Use Than You Might Think
“For those who have never tried it, try to swing a sledgehammer for 15 seconds straight,” says Jason Cameron, a carpenter who was on a popular DIY Network show called Sledgehammer with Jason Cameron. While Sylvester Stallone used a sledgehammer to smash steel in a rail yard as part of a training montage in the original Rocky, regular humans don’t usually have the hand and grip strength to swing a sledgehammer more than a few times. But it can be an excellent workout.
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You Need a Lot of Space to Use a Sledgehammer
A blunt-force trauma tool like a sledgehammer is too big to use inside most spaces because its swing radius is about triple the size of the tool and exceeds typical interior dimensions. In order to get the momentum for the tool to work, you need to use that large arc-motion to get it started. Otherwise, you are just tapping with it, and a little tap with the head of a sledge doesn’t do much of anything productive.
So you have to be aware of your surroundings and make sure there’s ample space before you wield a sledgehammer.
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Even TV Carpenters Say That Demo Isn’t as Easy as It Seems on Shows
The mess that smashing a sledgehammer creates can be overwhelming. What’s not seen on TV is the scurry of production assistants that clean up the mess after the sledgehammer destruction is over. I’ve worked behind-the-scenes on several TV renovation shows, and it’s nice to have that extra help. But on our real job sites, we don’t have an eager production team waiting in the wings to clean up.
"Everybody's favorite stress buster is demolition time,” said Anthony Carrino, an HGTV carpenter from Cousins on Call. “You just go in and rip a room apart.” But his cousin, John Colaneri added: “When you watch TV, people are cleaning that up after. It takes a long time.”
And Jeff Devlin from Stone House Revival on Magnolia Network agreed: “The one thing that’s fun about demolition is the demolition, but clean up actually blows.”
When Should You Use a Sledgehammer?
A sledgehammer can be an effective tool in specific situations, and there are a range of weights that are designed to provide enough mass to accomplish each type of task. Here are some ways professionals use a sledgehammer strategically:
Breaking up concrete
An 8-pound sledgehammer can break large hard things like concrete into smaller pieces. If you need to break up a concrete basement floor to get a perimeter drain in, or need extra height to make it an habitable space, a sledgehammer can make it happen. For example, in our 122-year-old house the basement floor was just a few inches thick. It was too slim for a jackhammer, but just right for a sledgehammer. A typical basement slab that’s about 4 to 5 inches thick would require an 80-pound jackhammer to break it up.
Splitting a log
A sledgehammer can help split tough logs. After you drive a wedge through a stubborn log, you can then hit it with a sledge to split it in two. You can also use the sledge’s cousin-tool, a maul, to slice off the edges of logs.
Installing T&G subfloor
If you are installing a new tongue and groove ¾-inch OSB subfloor, a sledgehammer can help. After positioning two sheets next to each other and into the groove, place a sacrificial beater block along the outside edge, and then use the sledge to tap the beater block so the tongue nudges fully into the groove.
Smashing a cast iron tub
Cast iron tubs can be way too heavy and cumbersome to remove from a house, and they often don’t fit through doorways and down stairs that weren’t there when the tub was installed. During demo, it’s easier to break an old tub into pieces. But first cover it with a blanket or drop cloth so the cast iron and porcelain doesn’t become shrapnel. And only hit it hard enough to break the brittle cast iron because the impact energy of your tub smash will radiate through everything connected to it.
Making dumpster space
If you’ve rented a dumpster for your demo job, and you want to max out the amount of stuff you can fit inside, then a sledgehammer can help. To save space in the dumpster, you can break apart cabinets, shelves, and other objects with air inside, right inside the dumpster. But you'll want to cover your skin and wear eye protection and closed-toe shoes.
Breaking up a granite countertop
Another heavy and cumbersome object to remove during a demo day can be a granite countertop. By breaking it into smaller pieces, removal is way easier. A 2-pound sledgehammer is all you need to break up a granite counter to make it more manageable to take out in pieces.
Driving stakes into the ground
A 2-pound sledgehammer can help get stakes or posts into the ground for string lines for fences. It’s also great for nudging fence posts onto a layout mark when they’re in the hole.