A single girder EOT crane is rarely the right primary tool for heavy structural demolition, but it is a strong fit for selective deconstruction, interior gutting, and concrete shear work where effective hook loads stay in the 1 to 10 tonne range [S1][S3].
Demolition work subdivides into concrete demolition, special demolition, rock excavation, and tunnel construction, and the crane selection logic differs in each, since hook load, slew dynamics, and surface pressure are the three figures that drive the load chart, not the bridge span [S3].
What "crane weight" means in demolition lifts
Hook load in demolition is the sum of tool dead weight, rotator and adapter, slinging gear, hydraulic hoses and oil, any piece of concrete that travels with the load when released, and a dynamic allowance band, with the practical formula reading Hook load = Tool + Attachments + Slinging + Hydraulics + Carry-along + Allowances [S3]. A typical allowance band runs 5 to 10% for calm short lifts and 10 to 20% for frequent slewing, higher hoist speeds, or intermittent wind, and values beyond that apply for particularly dynamic operations or awkward geometries [S3].
A worked example for a concrete demolition shear on a tower crane gives 680 kg shear + 55 kg rotator + 35 kg slinging + 20 kg hydraulics + 120 kg carry-along concrete piece + about 91 kg dynamic allowance at roughly 10%, which lands at 1,001 kg effective hook load [S3]. The same logic applied to a single girder crane in a workshop demolition bay lands in the same 800 to 1,200 kg effective range, so the single girder is comfortably rated for shear, splitter, and grab work, not for whole-slab or column lifts.
Single girder vs double girder vs mobile for demolition
Single girder EOT cranes maximise floor space and minimise dead weight through high-speed material handling, which makes them attractive in indoor or covered demolition bays where runway beams can be tied into existing structural steel [S1]. The structural form is one main bridge girder supported by two end carriages, with the hoist typically underslung, which keeps headroom requirements low and allows the crane to run inside low-clearance buildings where mobile cranes cannot fit [S1].
Double girder EOT cranes take over when hook load must exceed roughly 20 tonnes or when the hoist needs to sit on top of the girders for higher hook travel, which is the configuration that starts to make sense for primary structural demolition picks. Mobile cranes such as the Liebherr LTM 1300-6.2 at 360 US ton (300 tonne) capacity, the LTM 1650-8.1 at 770 US ton (700 tonne), and crawler units like the Manitowoc MLC300 in VPC-Max configuration handling picks up to 190,000 lb (86 tonnes) are the equipment class that handles bridge girder setting and major structural demolition, with spans reaching 166 ft (49 m) and working radius stretching to 116 ft on a single-crane solution or a paired lift with the LR 1160 [S2].
A practical selection rule is to use a single girder crane for hook loads up to about 10 tonnes at working radius under 25 m, a double girder EOT for 10 to 50 tonnes, and a mobile or crawler unit beyond that, with the dividing line set by the load chart at the worst-case radius rather than by nameplate capacity.
Hook-load math, dynamic allowance, and load chart sanity check
The first sanity check on any demolition lift is whether the load chart capacity at the required radius exceeds the calculated hook load, since radius and effective capacity are inversely linked and an eccentric load can reduce chart utilisation even when the pure mass sits inside the rating [S3]. For demolition work, the second check is whether the crane's self-weight plus counterweights fit the floor or runway, because inner-city deconstruction, building gutting, and work on sensitive substrates all impose surface-pressure limits that a standard warehouse floor may not meet [S3].
Planning documents and on-site paperwork routinely conflate hook load, operating weight, and transport weight, and a clean separation of those three terms is what stops load chart misinterpretation, especially when a demolition hammer or concrete shear is being added to the hook for the first time on a given runway [S3]. Allowances should be set conservatively on the first lift of a new tool and then tightened only after measured cycle data confirms lower dynamic factors.
Runway, headroom, and building integration
Single girder cranes are normally the lowest-headroom EOT option because the hoist is underslung from the single bridge girder, which lets the crane run inside existing buildings with limited structural height, a common constraint in selective demolition of industrial sheds and multi-storey gutting jobs [S1]. The flip side is that the runway beams must be rated for both the crane self-weight and the live hook load with dynamic allowance, and existing building steel often needs a survey before the crane is commissioned, since demolition activity can degrade runway support over time.
For projects that need both inside and outside lift coverage, a mobile crane or crawler crane is usually paired with a single girder EOT, with the EOT handling repetitive hook cycles inside and the mobile unit feeding structural pieces through wall openings or doing the heavy primary picks, an arrangement that mirrors the team-pick and single-crane solutions used in bridge work [S2].
Where a gantry crane fits the demolition mix
Where a permanent runway is not feasible, on rubble-strewn ground, or where the crane has to be moved between demolition phases, a gantry crane on rails or wheels is often the better fit, because it eliminates the dependency on building-integrated runway beams while keeping hook load and dynamics comparable to a single girder EOT. For repeated pick-and-place cycles on a single demolition floor, a single girder EOT usually wins on energy efficiency and operator familiarity, while a gantry or mobile unit wins on redeployment speed. [S1]
Use cases, limitations, and failure modes
Single girder EOT cranes are well suited to selective interior demolition, repetitive concrete shear cycles, rock and concrete splitter work, and material evacuation where effective hook load sits in the 1 to 10 tonne band, which covers most handheld and attachment-class demolition tools when allowance is included [S1][S3]. They are not suited to primary structural demolition of slabs, columns, or bridge girders in the 50 to 300 tonne class, where mobile and crawler cranes with working radius beyond 35 m take over [S2].
The most common failure mode is not crane capacity but load chart misinterpretation, where hook load, operating weight, and transport weight are conflated and a rated crane is asked to lift a load plus counterweight configuration that exceeds the chart at the working radius [S3]. The second is runway underrating on a demolition site, where the building steel supporting the crane has been weakened by adjacent cutting or vibration work, and the third is dynamic factor under-call on long, high-speed slewing cycles common in demolition, where the 10 to 20% allowance band is the floor, not the ceiling [S3]. For related decisions on auxiliaries in mining and heavy industry, see this spec-first guide on single girder crane selection for mining auxiliary lifting, and for bearing and strand choices that sit underneath any runway or sling setup, the guides on pillow block bearing selection for material handling lines and steel strand selection for renovation are worth reading alongside.