Since I have been talking about terms, I thought i would bring up the most popular new term that I have heard: deconstruction. There is a reason why this term has been bandied about of late. The housing problem is big in Cleveland. While it may not be any better or worse than in other cities around the country, we do have an older housing stock. Marry that with a high foreclosure rate, poor maintenance and high amount of scavenger crime, and you have a recipe for demolition. Furthermore, no one wants to live next to a boarded up home, so many Cleveland residents are clamoring for home destruction. Enter the world of deconstruction. Now, instead of bull dozing and landfilling a property, it can be taken apart and recycled.
We met with a representative of a great company and toured our building site. His name was Igor Rae and his company is Green Deconstruction Services. He was a wealth of information. What his company does is help you salvage what can be salvaged in a project. Our office buildings were built in 1885 and 1887. While the shell is brick masonry, there is still quite a bit of wood in the place. Buildings of that age typically used old growth lumber. That lumber is salvageable and reusable. Furthermore, it is typically of a higher quality than the lumber that we use in buildings today. They pull the nails and screws (which they recycle as well) and sell it to be reused. Deconstruction isn’t just about wood. Much of what is in a home can be reused or recycled. This project means extra tubs and sinks with fixtures. This company tries to find a home for these goods, by reuse, resale, donation or recycling. They salvage architectural details. This site has a lot of concrete. That means a sizable chunk of waste. We hope that it can all be reground and made onto new cement.
Green Deconstruction Services has recently acquired a new subsidiary. This other company is called Window Restorations. I had heard of this company before and was excited to speak with him about what they do. If you have old single pane windows with weights, then you know how drafty and wasteful they can be. Window Restorations comes in and removes them. But, instead of replacing them with new windows, they refurbish them. The weights are removed and recycled. then, the gap is filled and sealed. Next, they painstakingly replace or reinforce the glass to make it more thermally efficient. Then they reinstall them with a track and can even make them tilt able for easy cleaning. Rebuilding is often cheaper, and is always more environmentally friendly than replacement and throw away. Furthermore, the windows of our site are important architecturally to the front of the building. Their process can help us get historical tax credits, while still saving us money and making the building greener.
I am very excited about these guys. LEED credits are obtained by diverting materials from landfill, and this is a great start. I can’t wait to hear more about their evaluation.
