I. Overview: Over 90% of dangerous buildings can be repaired and salvaged.
The vast majority of buildings with safety hazards on the market can be restored to safe usage standards through professional structural reinforcement, eliminating the need for indiscriminate demolition. Only two extreme scenarios warrant immediate demolition: first, when the main structural framework has completely collapsed or been destroyed; second, when the total cost of repair and reinforcement exceeds 70% of the cost of rebuilding on the same site. Beyond these cases, structural reinforcement should always be the priority. Buildings with minor safety hazards can have all risks fully eliminated through reinforcement. Even severely dangerous buildings can be reinforced, repaired, and restored for use—as long as their main load-bearing framework hasn’t been completely destroyed—thanks to modern professional engineering techniques.
II. Professional Analysis: Hazardous Building Classification and Disposal Solutions under Indonesian Standards
According to Indonesia’s SNI national standards and local building safety assessment practices, the optimal treatment methods for different hazard levels are clearly distinguished:
⑴、Locally hazardous buildings — Professional reinforcement is prioritized, and arbitrary demolition is strictly prohibited.
Common situations: Often found in older shops and street-facing buildings in cities like Jakarta and Surabaya. Typical manifestations include uneven foundation settlement leading to wall cracks, corrosion and aging of beam and column reinforcements, and partial structural damage after earthquakes. Handling principle: Professional structural reinforcement is the only optimal solution, eliminating the need for demolition. Core technique: Using CFRP carbon fiber for beam and column reinforcement, paired with micro-pile systems for foundation stabilization. Core value: Reinforcement costs only 20%-40% of demolition and reconstruction; no need to reapply for cumbersome PBG building permits, preserving original property asset value to the greatest extent while saving both time and money.
⑵、Overall Hazardous Buildings — Primarily Focused on Emergency Reinforcement
Common Conditions: Noticeable tilting of the building, fractures in main load-bearing columns, and through-thickness cracks in floor slabs, posing an imminent risk of collapse. Reinforcement Applicability: As long as the overall load-bearing framework of the building has not suffered irreversible continuous collapse damage, it qualifies for reinforcement and repair. Core Techniques: Professional methods such as foundation underpinning, building rectification and jacking, and the addition of seismic shear walls are employed to restore structural stability. Compliance Assurance: As long as a formal reinforcement design plan is issued by a team with SKA-certified professional engineers, local authorities in Indonesia generally support repair over demolition and recognize the compliance of reinforced buildings.
Third, only in these three cases is demolition strongly recommended.
Professional engineers will only recommend demolition if any of the following extreme conditions are met:
⑴、Catastrophic Structural Damage
Exposure to earthquakes above magnitude 7, prolonged fire exposure leading to complete carbonization of concrete and loss of load-bearing capacity in steel reinforcement, making it impossible to reconstruct an effective load-bearing system through reinforcement.
⑵、Extreme Geological Hazards in Foundations
The earthquake caused severe soil liquefaction, resulting in significant settlement and subsidence of buildings, or tilting angles exceeding 30 degrees, with no construction space available on-site for rectification and realignment.
⑶、Illegal renovations exceed repair limits
Illegal unauthorized additional floors severely exceed the foundation’s load-bearing limit, and the cost of reinforcement and renovation far exceeds that of rebuilding from scratch, making it economically unrepairable.
IV. Core Advantages of Structural Reinforcement Compared to Demolition and Reconstruction
The approval process is more simplified：Demolition and reconstruction require a full set of PBG permit re-application, with a cumbersome process that can take 6-12 months. In contrast, structural reinforcement falls under building restoration projects, which has a streamlined approval process, allowing for quick acquisition of SLF functional compliance certification to restore legal usage qualifications.
Minimal neighborhood disruption：In Indonesia’s urban areas, buildings and shops are densely arranged. Demolition and reconstruction generate significant noise, vibrations, and dust, easily leading to neighborhood disputes. Minimally invasive reinforcement causes little disturbance, hardly affecting surrounding residents, and can even allow for continued occupancy during construction.
Unlocking asset value：Buildings with safety hazards cannot be used for bank mortgages or insured for earthquake property damage. After professional reinforcement and the issuance of a structural safety audit report, the building regains its safety compliance rating, enabling normal mortgages, insurance coverage, and transactions, thereby fully unlocking its financial value.
5. Professional Checklist: Should it be reinforced or demolished?
Assess the cost: Is the total reinforcement cost less than 60% of the cost of demolition and reconstruction (including all expenses such as demolition, permits, temporary relocation, etc.)?
Evaluate the location: Is it situated in the middle of a row of shops or buildings, lacking the construction conditions for standalone demolition?
View the standards: After reinforcement, can it meet the requirements of Indonesia’s current SNI 1726:2019 seismic fortification code?
VI. Conclusion: Hazardous Building ≠ Scrapped Building
Buildings with mild hazards are like “sub-healthy” structures—professional reinforcement can restore them to a safe and usable condition. Buildings with severe hazards, akin to “critical structural damage,” can still be rehabilitated through customized professional engineering construction, ensuring long-term safe use.
Important Warning: Never hire unqualified, makeshift construction teams to perform simple plastering or superficial repairs! Temporary fixes will only accelerate structural deterioration, turning mild hazards into severe dangers and ultimately causing irreversible asset losses. Always choose a qualified and professional team to carry out root-level structural reinforcement, truly securing building safety and protecting asset value.
For your property classification, would you like us to arrange an “on-site preliminary risk assessment” based on the Indonesian SNI standard for you?