07/19/2019
One brick at a time:
Almost ready to bring in the heavy equipment to haul away the debris. Most of the repurpose and salvage materials have been harvested and waiting to be picked up by vendors. Approximately 65% of the building was repurposed or recycled and only 35% went to the landfill. Most of the wood was sold, all of the trim was sold, most all of the bricks were sold, all of the metal was recycled including the copper and lead pipes, all of the windows were sold, all of the window weights were sold, originally it was gonna cost $50,000 to tear down the back half of the building and all of the materials would have went to the landfill. Deconstructing the building by hand and repurposing 65% yielded $42,000. after paying dump fees and contractor to remove the 35%. Yes it was longer and more labor intensive to deconstruct. But that is a short sited solution to simply tear the building down and haul it away to the dump. All activities involved in that process harms our environment. From the fuel for the tractors and trucks to adding to the landfill crisis. To to mention the new trees and bricks cost of production that the repurposed materials saved. Then finally the net gain of $50,000 savings and the $42,000 income nets a $92,000 swing in revenue. I am not suggesting that deconstructing is practical on every development project. However I am suggesting there are more opportunities to use this model that what is currently being used. Deconstructing is more common in the residential scene but the drivers more focused towards just grabbing a few items like flooring and stained glass windows etc. If you want to learn more about my deconstructing philosophy or to see if your project would benefit from the process then certainly contact me. I would be happy to share information or deconstruct your next project. Thank you greatly, Kelly Petersen Sr.