Fast Forward Concrete Cutting, Inc. completed an extensive concrete cutting and demolition scope at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) for Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Company.

Project Details

From July 2024 through June 2025, the project included multiple phases of work across interior, exterior, basement, roof, slab, and site areas. The broad scope required Fast Forward to perform precision concrete cutting, concrete breaking and removal, wall sawing, core drilling, selective demolition, soft demolition, structural removal, trench cutting, and site demolition.

Rather than being limited to one area or one type of demolition, the project called for our crews to adapt to different working conditions and demolition requirements throughout the site.

Extensive Interior & Selective Demolition

Fast Forward’s interior demolition scope covered numerous existing building components and finishes.

Work included removing tile flooring and mortar beds, storefront elements, windows and frames, non-load-bearing wall partitions, millwork, doors and frames, restroom components, portions of framed walls, ceiling systems, kitchen-related components, wood-framed catwalks, and other designated materials.

The scope included approximately 5,740 square feet of tile flooring and mortar-bed removal, along with extensive ceiling and interior demolition. Certain designated materials and building components also had to be carefully salvaged for reuse or returned to CSUN, requiring a controlled approach rather than conventional wholesale demolition.

Additional basement work included removal of wood-framed catwalks and hangers, ceiling systems and designated building components. The demolition scope also required coordination around mechanical, plumbing and electrical elements identified for removal, salvage or reuse.

Precision Concrete Saw Cutting, Breaking & Removal

Concrete cutting and removal represented another important part of Fast Forward’s work.

In the basement, our team saw cut the existing concrete floor slab for a new plumbing trench and removed the designated slab area. The team also cut and removed additional slab at Level 1 for building modifications, including work in restroom areas and other designated locations. This type of work requires careful layout, controlled cutting and coordination with surrounding construction so that only the designated concrete is removed while adjacent areas remain protected.

Wall Sawing & New CMU Openings

Fast Forward also performed detailed wall sawing and CMU demolition to create and modify openings in existing CMU walls.

The work included creating new wall openings of different sizes, widening existing openings, and modifying an existing CMU window area to accommodate a new door opening.

Precision was particularly important for this portion of the project. The scope specifically required core drilling at corners with no overcuts, followed by wall sawing and controlled removal of the CMU sections.

Combining core drilling with wall sawing allowed the openings to be created accurately while maintaining clean corners and limiting unnecessary impact to the surrounding wall.

Major Site Concrete Demolition

The exterior and site demolition represented a substantial portion of the overall project.

Fast Forward’s scope included approximately 200 linear feet of concrete paving saw cutting and removal of approximately 5,000 square feet of concrete paving.

The team also removed approximately 3,670 square feet of concrete topping slab, along with additional site elements including screen walls and footings, drainage-related components and other designated improvements.

The scale and variety of this work required coordination of cutting, breaking, material handling and removal while maintaining an organized work area within an active construction environment.

Fire-Water Trench – Saw Cutting

Another significant component of the project involved concrete paving removal for a new fire-water trench.

Fast Forward performed approximately 640 linear feet of saw cutting for a 320-foot-long, four-foot-wide trench area, followed by hand breaking and removal of approximately 1,280 square feet of concrete paving.

This work demonstrates the range of services Fast Forward can provide within a single operation, from accurately establishing the limits of demolition through cutting to breaking, removal and preparation of the area for the next phase of construction.

Hand Concrete Demolition

One of the more labor-intensive portions of the project involved removal of approximately 3,670 square feet of concrete topping slab at the Level 1 deck. Because the use of a Bobcat was prohibited in this area, the concrete topping slab had to be hand-broken and removed, requiring a more controlled and labor-intensive demolition approach.

The ability to adjust equipment, manpower and demolition methods to suit project-specific restrictions is an important part of Fast Forward’s approach to complex renovation and demolition projects.

Roof & Exterior Demolition

The project also included substantial roof demolition.

Fast Forward’s work included removal of approximately 3,600 square feet of concrete shingles from the sloping roof, removal of portions of roofing and coping, roofing assemblies, structural supports, canopy areas and other designated roof components. Combined with the interior, basement, concrete and site work, this made the CSUN project a diverse demolition assignment involving multiple work areas and demolition methods over an extended project duration.

One Project – Multiple Specialized Capabilities

The CSUN USU Basic Needs Suite project reflects the breadth of Fast Forward Concrete Cutting’s capabilities. Over the course of the project, our crews were called upon to perform work ranging from precision wall sawing and core drilling to concrete slab cutting, concrete breaking and removal, selective interior demolition, roof demolition, site demolition and hand demolition in restricted-access areas.

Successfully supporting projects of this nature requires more than specialized equipment. It requires planning, experienced field personnel, coordination with the general contractor and other trades, attention to existing conditions, and the ability to adjust work methods as project requirements evolve. For more than three decades, Fast Forward Concrete Cutting, Inc. has provided specialized concrete cutting and demolition services throughout Southern California for commercial, institutional and industrial construction projects.

Thank You, Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Company

Fast Forward Concrete Cutting sincerely thanks Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Company for the opportunity to contribute to this important project at California State University, Northridge. We greatly value our relationship with Hathaway Dinwiddie and appreciate the confidence placed in our team to execute such a broad and detailed scope of concrete cutting and demolition work.

We look forward to continuing our relationship and supporting Hathaway Dinwiddie on future projects throughout Southern California.