Earlier this year, one of our remodel clients made the decision to salvage items in their home instead of demolishing. We worked closely with The Reuse People to make it happen.
The Reuse People started in 1993 in San Diego with a one-off project to collect building materials for donation to victims of the El Nino flooding. It was so successful that it turned into a 501c3 non-profit company whose mission is to help the environment.
Now the company is headquartered in Oakland where they have a 40,000 square foot sales floor that is open to the public, basically a thrift store for used building materials. The primary customer that they serve is the modest homeowner doing minor repairs, DIY’ers, and landlords with rental units. In California, they serve a large portion of the state primarily from the Bay Area South and West of I-5.
The ReUse People Mission Statement
The ReUse People reduces the solid waste stream and changes the way the built environment is renewed by salvaging building materials and distributing them for reuse.
By consistently focusing on its mission, TRP has diverted over 415,000 tons of used building materials from landfills, trained 71 contractors and provided full-time employment to hundreds of people.
Allen & Eagle Demolition loading large appliances.
TRP’s ReUse Solution embodies two programs. The first is environmental — keeping reusable building materials out of landfills through building deconstruction, building-materials salvage, transportation, storage and distribution. The second program is economic, and is designed to improve the standard of living in local communities. As a deconstruction practitioner, international distributor of used building materials, trainer and consultant, TRP is proud to be a driving force in the Green Building Industry.
Why Consider Salvaging?
In many cases, 75 to 80 percent of a building can be kept out of the landfill. In additional to the environmental benefits, the tax deductible donation, plus any disposal costs that are offset, can sometimes match or outweigh the additional costs of the deconstruction.
Lumber is salvaged from a trellis.
Timing and cost considerations:
Deconstruction is typically double the cost vs. demo.
Deconstruction typically takes up to 10 times longer than demo. (If it takes 1 day to demo, it would typically take 10 days to deconstruct.)
How it works:
An initial survey of the inventory is done at no cost to the homeowner.
An inventory list is taken and sent to appraisers to determine a range of value that could be achieved through salvaging (which is the estimated donation value.)
If the homeowner decides to proceed, TRP then uses Certified Deconstruction Companies, usually getting 2-3 bids, to assure the condition of the products is preserved for resale.
Windows, doors, and bricks are some of the materials that can be salvaged for resale.
What type of projects are good candidates for salvaging?
TRP works with projects starting as small as 1,200 square feet. The typical project is a whole home remodel or a complete teardown. The items they can use include framing lumber (highest demand), doors, windows, cabinets, appliances, flooring, plumbing, and more.
By consistently focusing on its mission, TRP has diverted over 415,000 tons of used building materials from landfills and is proud to be a driving force in the Green Building Industry.
For more information, visit www.thereusepeople.org