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Deconstruction in Action
The ReUse People Oakland, California The ReUse People are among the best and the brightest of the deconstruction movement in the US. Since beginning operations in l993 as a non-profit organization in San Diego, serving both sides of the border with deconstruction services and resale operations. Starting out with a unique yard with stacks of shipping containers for specified products, the enterprise has expanded throughout California and much of the West. The Reuse People have taken down hundreds of buildings in the San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Boulder areas through a network of certified, reliable deconstruction technicians. The ReUse People Network has expanded in an effort to standardize efficient practices and share markets. Most recently, The Reuse People have completed a detailed training manual available to their working partners. The Reuse People technicians also specialize in business planning and financing. Stay in touch with these innovative deconstructionists through their email service or subscribe to their hard copy newsletter, the much heralded, Velvet Crowbar. The web page is another gem, including an annotated listing of 100 related local businesses and resources for deconstruction minded consumers in the Fan Francisco-Oakland region. The listing lays out virtually the entire deconstruction related industry in the area---a model for other deconstruction enterprises and networks. Contact Information: thereusepeople.org Reconnx, Inc. Serving the Reuse Industry Boulder, CO Reconnx is the premier company serving the equipment needs of the deconstruction industry. The company was started in l996, by Jon Giltner, a registered structural engineer determined to do his part to reduce waste in the building construction sector. Even as a young engineer, he was frustrated by the site of perfectly good 2" x 12's" and other construction materials being crushed and dumped in a landfill. His career in reuse began. Initially, Giltner focused on finger jointing for used wood and improved the product strength to 95% of the base wood. He adapted table saws and multi-phased drills to the task. His long time attentions to green building lead him to deconstruction as a niche market but a growing one. The mainstay of Reconnx' business is the denailing gun, or the 'nail kicker' which allows workers to use pneumatic energy to blow nails out of recovered wood quickly and without further damage to the material. Customers range from deconstruction companies, to pallet repair operations, to concrete forming companies that take nails out of 3/4" plywood used as forms. The nail-kicker allows the company to efficiently recover $100 per piece sheets of plywood for reuse. Reconnx is improving current models of the nail kicker that will allow the user to match the diameter of the nail with three adjustable drivers. The interchangeable drivers will allow for even more efficiency. Another tool in development will allow nails and screws to be removed by a drill attachment. Reconnx prides itself on making reuse cost effective. "Some projects could not be done economically without this tool," he explains. "One company needed to take down a large grain bin with thousands of feet of valued 2" x 6" and 2" x 8" boards. The nail kicker made it possible to recover and reuse the material." Giltner has a record of community service by helping found the Resource 2000, a construction materials reuse program of the Center for Resource Conservation, based in Boulder, CO. He was also a board member for the deconstruction industry trade association, Used Building Materials Association, the predecessor to the current Building Materials Reuse Association. Deconstruction Institute On-Line Resources Sarasota, Florida The Deconstruction Institute web site provides a wide range of articles, case studies, a business directory, and other materials to inspire and support deconstruction and materials reuse. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection provided funding for the creation of the website for Charlotte County, Florida as a training vehicle to anyone interested in learning how they can reduce the impact of building material solid waste in landfills. The Deconstruction Institute project partners are:
The Deconstruction Institute is currently managed by Jesse White, Principal of Resource Management Group, Inc., and founder of Sarasota Architectural Salvage. Although much of the information is oriented to the state of Florida, there are many resource materials of value to individuals and companies from throughout the country. For instance, the on-line Deconstruction Calculator was developed as a means to project the energy, pollution, and savings when materials recovered through deconstruction are reused, thus saving embodied energy, labor and transportation when compared to virgin material extraction, processing, transportation, and distribution. Free membership to the Deconstruction Institute is available to anyone with Internet access. Contact Information: deconstructioninstitute.com Second Chance, Inc. Baltimore, Maryland This non-profit enterprise, founded by Mark Foster in 2003, provides deconstruction, architectural salvage, and job training services, with a cooperative network ranging from Columbus, OH, to Newark, NJ, to Philadelphia, PA, and Baltimore, MD. In the four years since start-up, the company has grown to over 50 employees working out of the Baltimore operation. The company has 3 deconstruction crews and a retail store crew that oversees more than 120,000 square feet of warehouse space in downtown Baltimore. Second Chance pioneered the effort in establishing contracts with the City of Baltimore that call for workforce development funds for training and first right of refusal to deconstruct government buildings scheduled for takedown. Second Chance conducts a 16-week training program on a zero tolerance basis. Once the training is completed satisfactorily, the worker is guaranteed a permanent job with the company. Second Chance's goal is to create skilled workers making a living wage with benefits for themselves and their families. Trainees are recruited through city workforce development programs. So far, all trainees have completed the rigorous training program. The reason, asserts Mark Foster, is that "We are not just offering a good job, but employment in a growing company and sector of the economy and a pathway to a career."
Contact Information: Green Institute Minneapolis, Minnesota The Green Institute was established in 1993 after a 12 year battle against a garbage transfer station that had been proposed for the neighborhood of Phillips. The proposed site for the transfer station instead became the home of a ground-breaking new green building owned and operated by The Green Institute. The 64,000 square foot building was a pilot project for the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED system which was then being developed as a standard tool for developing and accrediting green buildings. As such, every element of the project was carefully planned to minimize its environmental impact and maximize overall efficiency, from the selection of the site and building materials, through the design of its mechanical systems to reduce long-term operating costs. The Center provides a healthy and energy efficient work environment for the staff of the Green Institute, as well as some of the most outstanding forward thinking organizations in the area. Rents from the Phillips Eco-Enterprise Center contribute about 20% of The Green Institute's total revenue. Re-used materials were, of course, used extensively in the construction of the project. Since 1993, the Institute has evolved into a $3.4 million dollar non-profit organization that promotes community revitalization through its four sustainable enterprises. These include the Phillips Community Energy Cooperative, GreenSpace Partners, and the Green Buildings Program. Its primary business, however, is its DeConstruction Services operation and The ReUse Center retail stores. DeConstruction Services contracts out its crews to dismantle buildings by hand, saving the materials to be used again instead of sending them to the landfill. The building owner receives a tax receipt for the retail value of the salvaged materials. The goods are then sold directly to the public through two retail locations of The ReUse Center, generating around $2 million annually. Together, the ReUse Center and DeConstruction Services reclaim over 4,000 tons of material per year for resale. Most materials come from dismantling residential buildings, but commercial projects are also considered. Although DeConstruction Services does not offer a separate consultation service, the organization does provide assessments to larger clients prior to starting their dismantling work that gives the client an estimate of the value they can expect from the materials. Crew members are paid $12 an hour and also receive health and dental benefits, as well as a 401K plan, a health club membership, and life and disability insurance. Training is accomplished through on the job mentoring with the goal of providing an "up and out" opportunity to disadvantaged people by giving them basic trade skills and a good reference for future advancement. The organization has not had much difficulty in finding workers to replace those who are able to move on into the skilled trades. Contact Information: greeninstitute.org Dynasty Deconstruction Cleveland, Ohio This for-profit company, founded by Keith Ludwig, trains workers recruited from within the neighborhood where projects are located and contributes valuable building materials to community schools, theaters, and affordable housing projects. Dynasty Deconstruction is only 2.5 years old and has 23 full time workers, earning from $10-18 per hour, based on skill level and length of service. The company has taken down 75 buildings as well as soft stripping buildings for Kent State University. They also provide deconstruction services for the Buckeye Development Corporation in Cleveland, Lakewood, and the Ohio School District. Dynasty Deconstruction is currently in negotiations with housing authorities, school districts, and private developers in the Cleveland metropolitan area. In addition to recruiting workers directly, Dynasty Deconstruction provides training opportunities for Hard Hatted Women, a women's construction training organization. The company is also cooperating with a non-profit group interested in expanding its used building materials resale operation as well as a Cleveland community development corporation which is planning a business based on manufacturing new products from wood recovered through deconstruction.
Contact Information: Re-Use Consulting Bellingham, Washington Re-Use Consulting, Inc. is the latest phase of long-time deconstruction specialist and activist David Bennink's career. Trained in environmental sciences, he taught himself how to deconstruct buildings efficiently and without the need for subsidies. After assisting with the start up of The Restore in Bellingham 14 years ago, for the last three years Bennink has been providing expert assistance to non-profit and for-profit deconstruction operations. Through his role as a member of the board of directors of the Building Materials Reuse Association, he maintains his advocacy and activism for deconstruction. Bennink works in all sections of the US and already has clients in 21 states. "My company's mission is to reform the industry so that deconstruction can become a mainstream choice for building removal and to replace demolition as the sole choice for building owners and developers." Bennink knows that his experience and ideas can take deconstruction to its logical conclusion. He has taken down over 380 different buildings. There are not too many problems in deconstruction that he has not encountered. But just in case something new does turn up, he has a team of specialists to call in for help. Another goal of the company is to assemble a state of the art action team, to respond to deconstruction circumstances throughout the US. Bennink's ideas have enabled his clients to reduce deconstruction projects from 2-3 weeks to 2-3 days, a remarkable jump in productivity and profits. By combining hand labor and machines in a 'hybrid' deconstruction model, Bennink can help demolition and deconstruction companies reach their full potential and profitability. This innovation has opened the way for new approaches such as panelization, popularization of the de-nailing gun produced by Reconnex, Inc., and the use of forklifts on site to save arduous labor. Bennick finds that the initial start-up costs can still be challenging to overcome, but believes that by helping companies grow to be more efficient and effective, he will justify this investment. Building disassembly, as Bennink used to refer to deconstruction, has grown tremendously in the past few years. Bennink thinks there is a lot more learning to go and is motivated to share his ideas, find new ways of doing things, and identify new equipment and techniques to increase productivity. Bennink's success is mostly word of mouth. He can not recall any formal advertising that he has done. He produces his own training materials for his clients. His company has the capacity to train workers and managers as well as oversee long-term projects. Bennick consults in a variety of areas including: setting up reusable building material retail operations, deconstruction program setup/training, individual project assessment and project management, plant and landscape material salvage programs, non-profit related issues, and assistance in selling materials through RE-USE Consulting's Reuse Network. Contact Information: reuseconsulting.com |
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