Picture this:  13,000 feet of lumber, 14 tons of concrete, 2,300 sq. ft. of siding, 3,000 sq. ft. of roofing material, 3,000 sq. ft. of insulation, and 6,000 sq. ft. of interior wall materials – all this to build a 2,000 square foot home.  According to the National Association of Home Builders Research Center, the total amount of waste from this project would be about 8,000 pounds, which would take up 50 cubic yards of space in a landfill.  If we deconstructed 25% of the buildings demolished every year, we could prevent about 20 million tons of debris from ending up in the landfill and instead put it to good use.

According to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, the U.S. demolition industry takes down about 200,000 buildings each year.  With a national deconstruction effort, about 200,000 jobs would be created, and $1 billion worth of building materials would be saved for reuse.  One of the most successful deconstruction companies, The Reuse People, is a multi-functional organization that offers comprehensive deconstruction and salvage services, with a nationwide distribution system of reusable materials.  They also provide educational and consulting services to spread their wealth of knowledge.  Through their efforts, over 250,000 tons of materials have been reassigned to other projects throughout the U.S.  There are several key benefits to their efforts: 

• Economic benefits to the building owner
• Lower housing or project costs to buyers
• Skilled job training and jobs are provided to communities
• Charitable donations are made to local groups such as Habitat ReStore
• Salvage of historical artifacts

States’ Efforts

Some states and cities have already implemented laws regulating construction waste, such as Boulder, Colorado, which has a mandatory Green Points program that governs recycling, deconstruction and materials reuse.  Massachusetts imposed a ban on the landfilling of asphalt pavement, concrete, metal and wood wastes as an incentive to recycle and reuse construction waste.  In California, many counties and municipalities have adopted waste management plans that require that all buildings scheduled for demolition be made available for deconstruction efforts. 

Design for Deconstruction

Probably the most important new concept in deconstruction is the idea of "designing for deconstruction," which is gaining favor as architects and builders get on board with lifecycle design for residential and commercial buildings.  By designing a building with the lifecycle in mind from the outset, the building is planned to come apart in the future as easily as it comes together during construction.  This means that starting with the right components (non-hazardous materials) and viewing construction waste and deconstruction salvage as a resource are essential. The Lifecycle Building Challenge defines Lifecycle Construction as “the design of building materials, components, information systems, and manage­ment practices to create buildings that fa­cilitate and anticipate future changes to and eventual adaptation, disassembly, or disman­tling for recovery of all systems, components, and materials.”

Principles for designing for deconstruction include: 

• Design for prefabrication, preassembly and modular construction
• A simple, rather than complex, design
• Minimal building components and materials
• Standardized components that can be reused
• Maximized flexibility and adaptability of space 

New Orleans projects 

In 2005, over 4,000 homes were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.  Since then, multiple efforts are ongoing to rebuild new homes in New Orleans after the devastation.  Some of the current projects are combining deconstruction principles with green building and salvage.  One partnership, Rebuilding Together New Orleans,  is working hard to recycle and reuse materials such as bricks, lumber, windows, doors and architectural elements, to be resold at affordable prices.  Another organization, Make It Right, is using Cradle to Cradle principles to build 150 new storm-resistant homes, designed to be energy-efficient and resource-efficient, as well as designed for easy deconstruction and reuse at the end of their life.  This creates a closed-loop system whereby deconstruction is an intimate part of the initial design of the project. 

Deconstruction Industry Challenges

While a savvy environmental practice, there are still a few questions to address before deconstruction can completely replace demolition.  Is there a market for the salvaged materials?  Can you sell the materials for a profit after factoring in labor and time of demolishing a building by hand?  Can the materials that are salvaged add value to a new project?   Can it increase the number of jobs available and stimulate new business opportunities?  Other challenges include ensuring worker safety from exposure to toxic materials, storage and delivery of components, and the lack of standards for recovered materials.

Deconstruction Resources

To see some of the great deconstruction projects to date, visit the case studies at http://www.lifecyclebuilding.org/resources.php.  In addition, the Seattle Salvage and Reuse case study has a great chart showing which components of deconstruction can be reused, which should be disposed of, and which might have associated health hazards associated.  Also on this site is the EPA’s comprehensive Lifecycle Construction Resource Guide. 

Written by :

Linda J Fox