The consultant, Tap International, says the Construction and Demolition Waste Diversion Program Program needs improvement to ensure that the City’s requirements and the intentions of the program are met.
Category Archives: Deconstruction
Victoria pens new bylaw to cut red tape for green demolition | CTV News
In December 2020, Victoria council voted to approve an ambitious plan to reduce city waste by 50 per cent by 2040. “If we diverted all the construction waste currently going into the landfill, that would take us 10 per cent of the way to our targets,” said Helps. In an effort to cut red tape for companies like Unbuilders, city staff are in the final stages of drafting a deconstruction bylaw.
Source: Victoria pens new bylaw to cut red tape for green demolition | CTV News
Rescued charm – Baltimore’s abandoned homes are being recycled | United States | The Economist
The yellow pine that was used to build Baltimore’s rowhouses came from old-growth forests, and is more dense and rot-resistant than faster-growing new lumber; a century of oxidation has given it a handsome, dark patina. Furniture-makers and interior designers play up its provenance, designing items around its joist- and plank-shaped pieces, some of them pocked with nail holes and saw marks.
Source: Rescued charm – Baltimore’s abandoned homes are being recycled | United States | The Economist
Lethbridge deconstruction program reaches record high waste reduction | CTV News
Through a city program, almost the entire amount of material from the demolished YMCA building in south Lethbridge was diverted from the landfill.
Romeril said they have no projects lined up at the moment but, depending on what the project is, hope that the next one may reach even higher than the 98 per cent they achieved this time around.
Source: Lethbridge deconstruction program reaches record high waste reduction | CTV News
Board by board, an old Naperville house is deconstructed for preservation and reuse: ‘This place, it stands apart’ – Chicago Tribune
Attic beams at the former Massier family home at 321 W. Franklin Ave. in Naperville were notched out of timbers, perhaps in the 1880s. (Suzanne Baker / Naperville Sun)
Reichert said it would only be fitting to have lumber from the home recycled as furniture since Massier and his father and brother worked as furniture makers at Kroehler Manufacturing Co., which was once Naperville’s largest employer and, in the 1940s, the second-largest furniture maker in the United States.
Mann Case Sets Precedent For Building Material Reuse Tax Charitable Valuation
be responsible and protect ecological environment, GETTY
If you are donating a “whole house” the house will be relocated off your property. Otherwise you are donating pieces of the house. Material destroyed in the deconstruction is not part of what you get credit for in valuing your deduction.
Source: Mann Case Sets Precedent For Building Material Reuse Tax Charitable Valuation
Buildings start to come down at Luckey site | News | sent-trib.com
The production building, which covers 1.5 acres of the site, is slated to be torn down, according to an update provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District. Photo by J.D. Pooley/Sentinel-Tribune
Building deconstruction greatly reduces the amount of dust generated and prevents the spread of airborne contamination. Deconstruction of the former production building and disposal of the debris is expected to take approximately seven months.
Source: Buildings start to come down at Luckey site | News | sent-trib.com
Canada deconstruction industry should be part of ‘build back better’ | Vancouver Sun
Unbuilders Reconstruction’s Niall Todd removes nails from a board at a house in North Vancouver in December 2018. The company demolishes homes by-hand and repurposes the reclaimed building materials. PHOTO BY JASON PAYNE /PNG
Across Canada, about 84 per cent, or four million tonnes of construction waste, ends up in landfills each year. Even in a forward-thinking jurisdiction like Metro Vancouver, less than one per cent of construction and demolition materials are reused. With the deconstruction industry in its infancy, the pandemic recovery is a chance to foster its long-term growth.
Source: Canada deconstruction industry should be part of ‘build back better’ | Vancouver Sun
‘Deconstructed’ Century Old Barn Lives On In Other CT Homes | Branford, CT Patch
The barn, built in 1912, once deconstructed, was found to have some of its timber from many years before.
Inside a northwestern Connecticut home there’s now timber from an ancient “deconstructed” Branford barn, purchased to match the existing 19th century floorboards. In a house in the state’s northeastern corner, the barn’s 110-year-old doors now live. And, an artist purchased pieces of the barn built in 1912 for their studio.
Source: ‘Deconstructed’ Century Old Barn Lives On In Other CT Homes | Branford, CT Patch
DECONSTRUCTED HOME DEDUCTION DENIED Lawrence P. Mann et ux. v. United States; No. 8:17-cv-00200 Tax News – Bills / Cases / IRS
The IRS now maintains that the Manns are not entitled under § 170 to either the original $675,000 fair market value deduction or the amended $313,353 deconstructed value deduction. The IRS asserts that in donating the value of the House, the Manns donated only a part of their interest in the Property, and that such partial-interest donations are impermissible under § 170. In opposition, the Manns assert that they had a discrete interest in the House that could be and was properly and separately donated purs
Source: Tax News – Bills / Cases / IRS
Organizer of proposed Cadillac youth center receives donation of 10,000-square-foot building in Hart | News | cadillacnews.com
The owner of a 10,000-square-foot decommissioned charter school in Hart, Michigan, offered to donate the building to youth center organizer Dana Wilson at no cost. Wilson estimates the value of raw materials in the building to be around $500,000.
Similar to what New Hope Center did in the spring, Wilson’s plan is to deconstruct the building and bring it back to Cadillac to be used in the construction of a youth center. “We’re going to salvage as much as we can from it,‘ Wilson said. “In materials alone, there are easily half a million dollars there.‘
Exploratory Study of Salvaged Lumber as Feedstock for Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) | Tallwood Design Institute
This study suggests that salvaged lumber could potentially be a new source of raw material for mass timber products, which could create new opportunities for wood waste recovery and greener building products.
Salvaged lumber from Portland deconstruction practices was collected, graded, and processed for mass timber panel manufacturing.
A Pandemic Woodworking Journey: Turning A Barn Into A Home | The ARTery
The barn’s original floorboards, before and after. (Simón Rios/WBUR)
A demolition crew came in and did the best they could to salvage the floorboards. Their level of care was less than pristine — the boards came out splintered with with huge gouges left by pry bars and hammer blows — but I couldn’t afford to pay someone to take up each board with a soft touch.
Source: A Pandemic Woodworking Journey: Turning A Barn Into A Home | The ARTery
Moran Plant Deconstruction – YouTube
Workers dismantle the old coal-fired power plant on the Burlington waterfront which closed down in 1986. The long-awaited redevelopment is removing the outer brick layer of the building and retaining the interior steel framework, the centerpiece of a new city park on a waterfront that was once devoted to industry.
B.C. deconstruction company ignites Dragons’ Den interest – Coast Mountain News
Adam Corneil sparked the attention of all six Dragons’ Den judges after pitching his deconstruction business. (Screenshot from Dragon’s Den Oct. 29, 2020 episode)
By the end of Corneil’s pitch, he had all six dragons offering him a deal and walked away with the potential for $600,000 ($100,000 from each dragon) at 18 per cent.
Source: B.C. deconstruction company ignites Dragons’ Den interest – Coast Mountain News
Wrecking Balls are a-swinging: rethinking the demolition mindset
As British architect Spencer de Grey of Foster + Partners has remarked, “…with the increasing pressure of sustainability, of survival on this planet, we need, at all times, to be making the best use of what is already built. So, the challenge I think for today, is to find ways of bringing new life to those buildings.”
Source: Wrecking Balls are a-swinging: rethinking the demolition mindset
The Day – Norwich seeks bids for next step in Uncas Leap park project – News from southeastern Connecticut
Yantic Falls in Norwich Friday, October 23, 2020. The City of Norwich is moving forward on plans to develop the park area around the falls. (Sean D. Elliot/The Day)
“Reutilizing the building will create a more attractive view,” City Planner Deanna Rhodes said. “Deconstruction will be an homage to what was there before, the mill history, and also will provide the viewshed that makes that whole area so significant.”
‘Mining the value of demolition:’ Dubuquer’s business salvages building materials | Tri-state News | telegraphherald.com
Keyshauwn Lewis works on pulling nails from lumber reused from the Flexsteel building that was deconstructed recently.
“We are mining the value in demolition,” he said. “1.2 million pounds of wood has been salvaged to date, and there is still more. There’s literally millions of pounds of material that was taken out of that building and would have gone in a landfill.”
A ‘deconstruction industry’ can help cut infrastructure sector emissions
“Once materials – raw materials – leave the biosphere and enter the technosphere because they are processed, we need to keep them in the technosphere and recycle or reuse them as much as possible,” Pralle said. “For that we need to create a deconstruction industry as powerful and elaborate as the mining industry.” Pralle said the success of a deconstruction industry
Source: A ‘deconstruction industry’ can help cut infrastructure sector emissions
Vancouver company leads the way in innovative home deconstruction | CTV News
A house on Vancouver’s West Side being dismantled by the group Unbuilders is seen on Sept. 30, 2020.
“What you’re going to see over the next five years is a rollout of deconstruction policy across the board,” said Corniel. “So, we’re the first of our kind in Canada, doing what we do, but this will be the typical way that houses are taken down and taken apart in the future.”
Source: Vancouver company leads the way in innovative home deconstruction | CTV News
Change planning laws to reduce waste and refurbish old buildings, engineers say – About Manchester
The government needs to go further with its circular economy plans if the UK is to reduce its waste and make a green recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, according to engineers from the University of Sheffield.
Adding circular economy principles to the planning process would put greater emphasis on retrofitting buildings, designing for adaptability, deconstruction and reuse of materials at end of life. It would both reduce waste, and help to reduce the UK’s demand for new materials.
Source: Change planning laws to reduce waste and refurbish old buildings, engineers say – About Manchester
DON launches a deconstruction-and-reuse program | Local News | ncnewsonline.com
A blighted Pine Street home is taken apart by DON ReClaim! workers.
“It was hot, hard work, but extremely rewarding, and demonstrates very clearly there is a real market for these materials. They just need to be reclaimed and offered for sale.”
Source: DON launches a deconstruction-and-reuse program | Local News | ncnewsonline.com
Holly Springs resident builds house out of mostly recycled materials | Lifestyle | tribuneledgernews.com
Holly Springs resident Mark Whitlock used his over 30 years of experience in the salvaging business to construct a building from mostly recycled materials. This building is the first new one in the Town Center District.
“All of the floor has been reclaimed out of a building in Pennsylvania, which used to be a part of an old school house,” Whitlock said. “A building in Kentucky was taken down by a fire, so I salvaged about six tractor trailer loads of it and turned it into furniture. I also brought back 13 tractor trailer loads of lights and light fixtures from Texas to use to create my own light fixtures. Every light fixture in the house was made from these materials and the ones I didn’t use for the light fixtures in my h
Retrofits versus building new: we need whole of industry change | The Fifth Estate
More than 20 million tonnes (or megatonnes, MT) of waste was generated in 2017 from the construction and demolition industry – more than a third of Australia’s waste production. And nearly all of it is sent to landfill.
Source: Retrofits versus building new: we need whole of industry change | The Fifth Estate
Minnesota county offers grants promoting deconstruction over demolition for older homes and apartments – Waste Today
To be eligible, the structure must be a home or apartment with up to four units built before 1950 and with a renovation area of at least 250 square feet. Moreover, six material types need to be removed to be reused and at least 550 pounds of wood must be salvaged from the project. All non-reusable building materials must be sent to a county-approved C&D recycler.
Forget Sustainable Construction—It’s Time for Sustainable Deconstruction – CU Denver News
The Zippered Pavilion is constructed of Zippered Wood technology, which uses short lengths of waste 2x4s.
Many commercial buildings have a life cycle of about 10 years (think about strip malls and office parks, for example), and yet most architects approach their work as if it’s permanent. “Architects never think about how their buildings come down,” Swackhamer said. “There is no incentive to think about decay.”
Source: Forget Sustainable Construction—It’s Time for Sustainable Deconstruction – CU Denver News
A passion for preservation: Sault Ste. Marie entrepreneur helps revive downtown
Anderson Media: Danna Sanderson at the Foundary in Sault Ste. Marie.
“The minute we buy a building, I’m in there with chisels and hammers,” said Danna. “The point of buying an old building isn’t to tear down everything, it’s to save what you can.”
Source: A passion for preservation: Sault Ste. Marie entrepreneur helps revive downtown
Historic items removed from Beckett building before razing
“At least we can salvage, and save parts of the building and keep some of these in circulation,” Snyder said. “We’ve done quite a bit of salvage work.”
Source: Historic items removed from Beckett building before razing
Preserving the history of deconstructed Sask. barns | CTV News
The Prairie Barn Brothers are taking on their biggest project yet: the deconstruction of a 126 x 68 two-storey timber frame barn. (Stefanie Davis/CTV News)
“There’s so many different unique applications you can do with the barn wood that just makes it stunning,” he said. “We regularly get cedar, fir, spruce and spine as the major types of wood.”
Source: Preserving the history of deconstructed Sask. barns | CTV News
Richmond city staff push for quick deconstruction of deteriorating net loft | Richmond News
The Phoenix Net Loft has deteriorated even further, according to a recent engineering report, and could cause contamination to the Fraser River if it collapsed.
Photograph By FILE PHOTO
City staff are asking council to approve a plan to deconstruct the 1940s building where fishing nets were cleaned and repaired until the early 2000s, but the plan includes keeping as many of the “heritage elements” as possible.
Source: Richmond city staff push for quick deconstruction of deteriorating net loft | Richmond News
10 tips on salvage materials from Jimmy Mitchell – Living Building Chronicle
Skanska’s Jimmy Mitchell has been a strong advocate for salvaged building materials for more than a decade.
From Long Beach to Boston, a new generation of organizations has grown up around the deconstruction of buildings and the sale of reusable materials. They’re often nonprofits backed by local architects, builders and environmental groups. Their aim is to build a supply chain that puts salvaged goods on equal footing with new products and materials.
Source: 10 tips on salvage materials from Jimmy Mitchell – Living Building Chronicle
Iconic Iosco County gypsum bin to be demolished offshore in Lake Huron – mlive.com
A 2016 photo of the U.S. Gypsum marine loading crib in Tawas Bay on Lake Huron, offshore of the company’s former mine and overwater tramway in Alabaster Township, Mich. (Garret Ellison | MLive)Garret Ellison | MLive
As part of a mutual agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, USG stated that it will be documenting the deconstruction of the historic structure for archiving purposes. Images will regularly be shared on the company’s webpage.
Source: Iconic Iosco County gypsum bin to be demolished offshore in Lake Huron – mlive.com
Onetime Fred Rogers weekend retreat will be part of ‘forest with homes’ | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Wesley Posvar Jr.
“It’s a project started by Jay Troutman to make sure we reuse and repurpose as much of the materials and plants as we can,” he said. “It started with the plants,” said Mr. Troutman, vice president of Fox Chapel Borough Council.
Source: Onetime Fred Rogers weekend retreat will be part of ‘forest with homes’ | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Bits of Upper Canard history will be built into tiny homes | Regional-Business | Business | The Journal Pioneer
Jocelyn Aucoin of the Canning-based 1850 House specializes in dismantling historic structures by hand and salvaging material that can be reused. – Ashley Thompson
Aucoin sees the growing popularity of tiny homes as an opportunity to find another use for the reclaimed material 1850 House is able to salvage by carefully dismantling heritage homes in a manner the significantly reduces the amount of waste bound for a landfill.
City must reuse old bricks to build Butler Street head house: EPA • Brooklyn Paper
The city needs to use original brick to reconstruct the corner of 234 Butler St. Photo by Meg Capone
Federal and state officials have upheld an agreement with the city to reuse tens of thousands of original bricks to restore the facade of the historic Gowanus Station site when construction crews tear down the building for a new water-filtration facility, according to an April 21 letter.
Source: City must reuse old bricks to build Butler Street head house: EPA • Brooklyn Paper
Milwaukee extends freeze on requirement to dismantle old houses
Meanwhile, the ordinance’s continued suspension provides more time to develop a market for materials recycled from deconstructed houses. Selling those materials helps reduce the higher cost of deconstruction.
Source: Milwaukee extends freeze on requirement to dismantle old houses
Let’s Stop the Demolition Derby – Banker & Tradesman
The National Association of Home Builders reports that 58,600 houses were removed from their lots in 2017 to make way for newer, almost always larger, houses. Many of them were obsolete places that nobody wanted, and the land under most was probably more valuable than the houses themselves. But instead of being demolished, at least some could have been deconstructed: taken apart systematically so their parts could be reused.
Source: Let’s Stop the Demolition Derby – Banker & Tradesman
Here’s how we can recycle more buildings | CityMetric
Image: author provided.
Advanced sensors and AI that can detect quickly and determine accurately what can be used among CDW and efficient robotic sorting could aid circular construction by vastly improving the recycling of a wide range of materials. The focus should be on the smart dismantling of buildings and ways of optimising cost-effective processes.
Source: Here’s how we can recycle more buildings | CityMetric
Hennepin County Encourages Deconstructing, Not Demolishing Through Grants – CCX Media
“In a demolition project, the entire building is demolished and wrecked,” said Olivia Cashman, construction and waste specialist with Hennepin County. “Whereas in a deconstruction project, the building is taken a part and it’s typically by hand so that process typically takes a lot more labor and time.”
Source: Hennepin County Encourages Deconstructing, Not Demolishing Through Grants – CCX Media
Re-Evaluating Heritage Waste: Sustaining Material Values through Deconstruction and Reuse: The Historic Environment: Policy & Practice: Vol 0, No 0 – by Susan M. Ross
This article explores how heritage values can be productively sustained or transformed by processes of building deconstruction and materials reuse, which address the increasing magnitude of demolition waste, landfill and resource use in urban development. The article starts by examining literature in heritage studies, sustainable building, and discard studies, then presents two examples from Vancouver, a Canadian city under intense development pressure, to help frame questions from project and policy contex
Hennepin County offering ‘Green Grants’ to help with cost of deconstruction | KSTP.com
Hennepin County has a total of about $100,000 in deconstruction grants available for 2020.
Source: Hennepin County offering ‘Green Grants’ to help with cost of deconstruction | KSTP.com
A sustainable teardown in Lake Oswego – Pamplin Media Group –
PHOTO: CLARA HOWELL – Workers have started building vertical on the new City Hall building.
Redevelopment Manager Sidaro Sin said contractors were able to recycle 90% of the two existing buildings — a former medical office and doggy day care — that were on the property where the new City Hall is being built. That was about 15% more than the contractors’ original goal.
Source: Pamplin Media Group – A sustainable teardown in Lake Oswego
Broaden the scope of of contractor education | Columnists | missoulian.com
A 2017 UN Environment report estimated the building sector contributes 49 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions thus making it the single largest contributor to climate change. Globally, building operations account for 28 percent of GHG emissions and the embodied carbon of building materials–the emissions generated in the production, transport, and assembly of materials such as wood, concrete, and steel–accounts for another 11 percent.
Source: Broaden the scope of of contractor education | Columnists | missoulian.com
St. Raphael steeple getting the barn treatment so it can live on in pieces of art | Local News | madison.com
Jeremiah Logemann rummages through a storage locker Friday to show off some of the parts from the St. Raphael steeple that he plans to turn into pieces of art. St. Raphael in Downtown Madison was destroyed by fire in 2005. Since its demolition in 2008, the steeple has been kept in a lot along East Washington Avenue, but Logemann assumed ownership of the spire in June when the Madison Diocese was looking for a way to dispose of the 18-ton structure. STEVE APPS/STATESMAN JOURNAL
“I’ve been busy as hell since that day. It’s kind of miraculous,” Logemann said. “There are a lot of people in Madison that either just want art to make their place look cooler or they like the story of the steeple or a barn or they’re philanthropists. It doesn’t matter where their heart is at. We’ve got the material and I have the drive to make it. We can make great public art all over this city.”
Tax Court Demolishes Deconstruction Deduction
Worker removes plaster from a brick wall with a perforatorGETTY
If the salvageable material from deconstructing your house is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, you should not need to pay somebody to take the house apart so that you can give the pieces to charity. There should be people waving money in front of your face to come in and take it apart.
St. Louis Begins Taking Apart Buildings To Salvage Valuable Brick And Lumber | St. Louis Public Radio
For about six months last year, the St. Louis Development Corporation hired workers to carefully take apart a former storage warehouse in the Vandeventer neighborhood and saved lumber, brick and other materials for reuse.
DAVID KOVALUK | ST. LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO
“Each job is like a cadaver. You get to dissect the building, see how it was put together, how it worked, how it could fail,” Schwarz said. “And each job is different. You don’t always know going into it what exactly is going to be there.”
How an Irvington Company Salvaged a Century-Old Barn | NJ Monthly
Dismantling a historic barn is an exacting process, requiring weeks of logistical planning. Because the team hopes to repurpose every piece of wood, most work is done by hand, with the occasional support of heavy machinery. “The barn has its own plan,” says manager Anthony Saraceno. “There are always surprises.” Photo by Joe Polillio
Each salvage job is unique. In the case of Pitney Farm, a portion of the grounds is to be converted into a public park. Some of the salvaged wood was set aside to build benches for the park. Real Antique Wood will repurpose the rest. “I’ve probably made 25 mantels from the beams of that barn already,” says Anthony Saraceno, who manages the mill and Real Antique Wood.
Source: How an Irvington Company Salvaged a Century-Old Barn | NJ Monthly
Virtuous circles: Can reusing building materials in new projects go mainstream? | News | Architects Journal
‘To me, this indicates the need to further question the current practices of the construction sector. How is it that something so simple and obvious as keeping reusable resources intact and in circulation can have become so complicated to put into practice?’
New Vancouver Island ‘deconstruction’ company breaks down heritage houses by hand – Sooke News Mirror
The crews carefully deconstruct old homes to rescue as many reusable materials as possible, including old growth timber.
(Unbuilders photo)
With the climate crisis in our face, and the need to keep forests in the ground, Corneil recognized an opportunity for a holistic approach to demolition. He shifted his Vancouver construction business two years ago into a deconstruction company called the Unbuilders, and business is good.
40,000 bricks for Whangārei’s Hundertwasser – NZ Herald
The volunteer group started recycling the bricks from the former Harbour Board building in 2018.
A community effort to recycle material from Whangārei’s old Harbour Board building has come to a close and after two and a half years of chipping, project leader Andrew Garratt is counting nearly 40,000 bricks to be used in the new Hundertwasser Arts Centre.
Source: 40,000 bricks for Whangārei’s Hundertwasser – NZ Herald