How “Deconstruction” Remodeling Saves You Thousands

From Margaret on January 10th, 2011 in General Remodel

While you might have new construction on the brain, consider the beauty of deconstruction instead. The concept is gaining ground across the country because it allows homeowners to remodel or rebuild while saving money—sometimes even hundreds of thousands—in the process.

How does deconstruction work? Rather than trash the materials from your home, you dismantle those pieces and sell or reuse them. The salvaged materials can go towards a new home, a renovation project in your existing home, or even nonprofit building organizations. Any standard material that can be reused is game.

Think it’s probably not worth your time? Take Mike and Tricia Barry of Danville, CA, who received a $100,000 tax write-off for deconstructing their old home piece by piece and recycling it instead of sending it to the landfill. That’s right, you read the amount of zeros correctly.

Commonly deconstructed items include windows, floors, ceiling tile, countertops, doors, lighting and plumbing fixtures, molding, blinds, shades, roofing and more—basically any material, home fixture or appliance that can be easily repurposed.

But don’t limit yourself to the standard materials. Consider your home a salvage yard, and search through it for items that can be disconnected and sold on Craigslist and other venues.

If your home is constructed from commercial building materials, you may even attract industrial buyers. Scraps and random pieces can go to nonprofit organizations like Habitat for Humanity, which reuses random pieces like copper piping in their building process.

Considering that one year’s construction debris is enough to build a 30-foot-thick wall around the entire U.S., reusing materials that would otherwise be trashed is critical for cutting down on environmental waste.

With such tremendous benefit to the environment and your own pocketbook, this is a process worth looking into. Get in touch with licensed remodeling contractors to learn more.

Photo credit goes to these beautiful Reclaimed Wood Kitchens.