Deconstruction not demo

(January 2020) When we were first working with our architect back in 2018 on initial plans for the project, we assumed that we would enjoy the exciting first step in any house renovation process and lots of people’s favorite part on any TV home show - demo! Given all that we were going to be taking down and then re-putting up including new walls with new insulation, there would be massive demo to indulge in. Hard hats, plaster falling everywhere and loads of old building materials going to a landfill making for some great camera shots!

In 2019, when we were ready to finally move forward on our Happy Boolo Project, we learned about a different sort of demo, something we had never heard of before — deconstruction — and a company called Recyclean located in Kenosha, Wisconsin that services construction sites across the Midwest.

In the deconstruction process, companies like Recyclean carefully dismantle the material in existing structures so as much of it as possible can be re-used in other structures. The process involves more labor than typical demo given it is as much about preserving as dismantling. We were hooked on the idea right away as it supported all three of our philosophy pillars:

Functionality — Material from our original Happy Boolo home will be repurposed for function in another structure.
Sustainability — We avoid adding to landfills. We learned that construction waste makes up a significant portion of landfills.
Community — Our material is donated to organizations that serve the community.

The other benefit: credit at tax time!

Of course, we wanted to be sure we had done our due diligence in terms of the cost/value ratio of this option, so we consulted our accountant. He ran the numbers based on the proposal we had received from Recyclean and at first his and our conclusion was: this is a big up front investment for a tax credit. We were not sure if this was the right option for us. However, when we checked back in with our architect, we realized we were missing part of the equation - regular demo costs. So once we understood the cost of regular demo on top of the framing estimates we had received, deconstruction made a lot more sense. Yes it was going to be a bit more expensive than regular demo, but when we considered the cost of demo + our commitment and desire to do this project as sustainably as possible, we decided to go for deconstruction and work with Recyclean.

Deconstruction was fascinating to watch. The team from Recyclean took great care to preserve everything from large to small, from big cabinets down to each nail. And they worked fast.

Over the course of several days in mid-January, they had taken out everything that we would no longer use and carefully preserve the many aspects of the home we would preserve such as our two existing bathrooms, plaster ceilings on the second floor where our offices would be, our hardwood floors and the studs in the walls. It was wild to suddenly see through the walls in the home. And it was amazing how neat and tidy they left the house ready for framing.

Deconstruction not demo

Treasure Alert!

Tearing Down the House