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The challenge | The teams | The designs | The test | The demolition
This is it! After weeks of construction and destruction by teams from all over the country, we've arrived at the final. The two top teams, chosen for their tough, ingenious and downright tasty designs earlier in the series, are the Hitmen and Her, who built an almost impregnable vault, and Explosive Mix who created the water tower to end them all.
For the Demolition Day final, each team has to construct a 10-metre high lighthouse which may be no bigger than 3.5 metres at the base. This huge structure needs to be able to withstand a 120mph wind, a water cannon and 3.5-tonne tidal waves. Oh yes, and an array of evil looking demolition tools as well! Let the games begin.
Rosemary Redmond, Design Engineer
Rosemary works in the water industry on pipelines and sewage systems. She's currently redesigning the waste management system for the City of Oxford.
Charlie Finch, Builder
With 14 years experience in construction, Charlie has his own building firm and has worked on everything from houses to retail parks.
Steve Malton, Demolition Man
Ex-professional nightclub dancer, Steve has 12 years' demolition experience and is familiar with all the demolition tools.
Alan Wright: Design Engineer
Award-winning designer Alan has over 16 years' experience in the trade. He's an expert in conservation design and has worked on special projects as a consultant for both English Heritage and the National Trust. Outside work, cricket and rock music float his boat.
Robert Myers: Builder
With over 30 years experience as a builder, Robert has worked all over Wales and the south west. He's even done a stint in Hanover, Germany, Auf Wiedersehen Pet style. His day job currently involves building house extensions in the Cardiff area.
Gary Tuson: Demolition
Manchester United fan Gary has over 25 years' experience during which time he has demolished everything from factories and flats to military bases, multi-storey car parks and bridges. Water towers watch out!
Lighthouses in Britain date back to the Romans, or maybe even earlier. Each one is identified at night by the unique pattern of flashes from its super-powerful lights. During the day they're recognised by the pattern of striped livery (usually red and white) which runs around the walls. The aim is to warn shipping of dangers like shallow water and rocks, and to guide coastal traffic to safety. They also have to be extremely strong structures because they face some of the most powerful elements that nature can throw at them.
Hitmen and Her go for a design based on a heavy concrete base which contains a large water tank. The tank holds a PVC pipe column which is strengthened by inserting a telegraph pole. A cable drum supports the light. Timber spokes at the base will carry high-tension cables to steady the structure.
Explosive Mix have disagreements about their design from the start. A large concrete-filled water tank will be the base. This is supported by rock baskets. A timber pyramidal structure with an incorporated telegraph pole will support the light, but they are not sure what to put in the middle. After some arguing, they agree on concreting PVC tubing into oil barrels and supporting the boxlike structure with steel reinforcement.
Simon Pitchers is a structural engineer who specialises in structural failure. As judge for the final he's looking for a high and robust building that can withstand a 120mph wind, a 1,000-litre-per-minute water cannon and even two 3.5-tonne tidal waves. This has got to be the biggest inland 'storm at sea' ever.
First up, Explosive Mix's construction gets the treatment. The huge wind fan rips some polystyrene shuttering from the sides. The water cannon makes the structure rock, and the tidal waves hit the base twice, washing material from the rock baskets. At the end of the test the lighthouse has stayed intact.
Hitmen and Her's lighthouse, with its slender design, takes the 120mph wind like a summer breeze. The water cannon creates a slight rocking in the central pole, but the tidal waves don't even give it a nudge. Another winner for this team, too.
But whose design will be chosen as the best by judge Simon? The teams have to wait for Demolition Day to find out.
After considerable thought, judge Simon chooses the design by Hitmen and Her as the test favourites. That means they get first choice of the demolition tools. Both teams chose the grapple in their previous rounds of the series. This time, Steve Malton makes the same choice again. After some deliberation, Explosive Mix's Gary Tuson goes for the impact breaker.
For this final round of the game, the winners will be the first team to break the opposition's work down to less than 750mm above ground level.
First in is the grapple, which renders the top of Explosive Mix's lighthouse to the ground. Soon afterwards, Gary Tuson responds by toppling Hitmen and Her's needle-like tower. It's going to be a battle of the foundations. The grapple gets tied up in a mass of reinforcing wire and mesh, but Explosive Mix meet an equally tough challenge in Hitmen and Her's reinforced concrete box foundation. It's neck and neck – but with a final crunching track over the remains, the Hitmen and Her take the title and become the first ever champions of Demolition Day!
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