Do Good When Demolishing Your 1800S Home By Reusing And Recycling
Watching a historic house that's become a local landmark and a place you called home be reduced to a pile of rubble is sad. If you own an 1800s home that needs to be demolished though, you also have an opportunity to do good. Many parts of an older home can be reclaimed, reused or recycled. Hiring a green demolition team that will take time to sort and salvage parts of your home won't dry every tear, but knowing that pieces of your home will have a second life might help you through this tumultuous time. Read this article to learn more about the parts of your home that can be saved.
Salvaging Items in Homes
Every home, no matter when it was built, has salvageable items in it, but older homes tend to have especially desirable things. From the furnishing to the plumbing, numerous parts of an 1800s home might be worth saving. For instance, your house might have:
- large hardwood beams
- antique sinks, toilets and bathtubs
- unique hardware, such as faucets or cabinet handles
- custom doors and light fixtures
- built-in mirrors
Many people who are building houses would love to incorporate these items into their own homes.
Additionally, contractors might be able to use some of the more mundane parts of your home, like:
- boards over 6 feet
- copper pipes
- wood flooring
Finally, if improvements were made after your home was initially built, there might be concrete. Concrete, Dirk Braen explains, can be converted into recycled concrete aggregate (RCA). RCA is used as an inexpensive alternative to gravel in driveway, patio and road construction projects.
Letting the Pros Salvage Items
It may be tempting to remove some of these items yourself. After all, there are many tutorials on taking out sinks, bathtubs and toilets. If you're handy, you might even consider removing a light fixture or copper pipes.
Unless you're a professional contractor, though, you'll be better off leaving the salvaging to a professional demolition crew. In a house that's more than 100 years old, complications can arise during even a seemingly simple project, such as removing a built-in mirror. An experienced demolition team will have the expertise to deal with any problems that come up.
Doing Good by Hiring a Green Demolition Company
A demolition company that will take the time to salvage parts of your home may cost more than one that will just tear it down and cart everything to the local landfill. Most of the additional cost will be used to pay for the manual labor required to remove and sort out salvageable items. If you can afford it, the higher price is an opportunity to sacrifice a little money and do good. By hiring a green demolition company, you can help both the environment and people in need.
First, sorting out items that can be reused and recycled keeps them out of the nearest landfill, which is good for the environment. Some parts of your home won't be salvageable, and they'll need to go to a landfill. You can reduce how many materials you send, though, by selecting an environmentally conscious demolition team.
Second, you have an opportunity to donate the materials that are saved to people in need. While you could pocket the profits that come from selling antiques, copper and large beams, you can also donate them. Many organizations that build homes for low-income families will accept donated construction materials and fixtures. They may use them to build a home, or they might sell them and use the proceeds to pay for a new home.
If you own an 1800s home that's falling apart and needs to be taken down, selecting a green demolition team and donating salvageable materials won't take away all the pain of seeing your home reduced to nothing. Doing good for the environment and people in need, though, might help ease the pain just a little bit. Contact local demolition companies to see if they offer green demolition and to learn more about how your home could be given new life and help others.
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