USA Today recently reported that recycling homes is becoming a booming enterprise, citing a trend toward deconstruction rather than demolition. One of our competitors and my former colleague, Ted Reiff, goes on to mention that the heightened interest may be due to stimulus funding.

NEW BLOG POST: Recycling Homes Should be a Matter of Conscience, Not Stimulus Money

April 28, 2010

Ross, CA – April 28, 2010: Deconstruction & ReUse Network (DRN) recently completed the deconstruction of a single-family home in the City of Ross (Marin County, CA) and all salvaged materials have been donated for reuse. DRN is an environmental and humanitarian non-profit that helps Californians with deconstruction and reuse solutions. The 3,000 square foot home in the City of Ross, which is going to be completely remodeled, has been carefully deconstructed to salvage as much of the existing interior as possible for reuse with DRN rather than being demolished down to the studs. Most of the home’s beautiful interior, which includes French doors, brand named fixtures and dual pane windows have been donated for resale at the Habitat for Humanity of Sonoma County ReStore in Santa Rosa.

“California’s landfills are inundated each day with construction waste that could easily be reused as-is or recycled,” says Lorenz Schilling, founder/president DRN. “By choosing deconstruction, homeowners can reuse and recycle as much as 75% of their home, with the donated materials being used to help families in need.”

DRN began the process by identifying and inventorying all reusable (and donation worthy) items throughout the home. Next, Roa Construction, acting as the deconstruction contractor for DRN's Deconstruction Solution Program, carefully dismantled the interior of the home and organized all salvageable materials under DRN’s direction. Some of the valuable materials included in the owner’s donation were: dual pane Marvin and dual pane Milgard vinyl windows, solid core interior doors with Balwin hardware, Marvin dual pane French doors, maple kitchen cabinets with a custom finish, Decor stainless gas stove with vent, oak flooring, wool carpets, Kohler toilets and a Jucuzzi spa tub. From start to finish, the complete deconstruction and removal of materials took fifteen days.

“The whole process worked great and I was amazed at how much material they were able to reuse,” said Jason Roa, Roa Construction. “I would highly recommend this to any homeowner who is planning a large scale remodel. It decreased the need for debris boxes and, because DRN is so well organized, we removed all the materials in a timely manner.”

Habitat for Humanity of Sonoma County helps DRN to achieve its mission by using some of the donated materials in local construction or selling reusable materials to the public through its ReStore. To view photos from this and other projects, please visit the DRN Photo Gallery. DRN’s expert staffers in the Bay Area include Gerald Long, Leslie Roth, Lorenz Schilling, Nicole Tai and T.R. Vierra. For more information, please visit our website.

About Deconstruction & ReUse Network:
Deconstruction & ReUse Network is an environmental public benefit corporation 501(c)(3), whose mission is to promote and empower deconstruction practices and to grow a greater reuse network for quality building materials through partnerships with complimentary operations and organizations. Deconstruction & ReUse Network currently serves Northern and Southern California with partnerships that benefit Habitat for Humanity and Corazon. www.Decon-Network.org Blog: http://recycleyourhouse.blogspot.com

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Media Contacts:

Lorenz Schilling
DRN Founder/President
T: 562-307-6065
Lorenz@reusenetwork.org

Alison Mullin
Starfish P.R.
T: 310-560-4049
Alison@starfish-pr.com