Reusing building materials is an important method of reducing the amount of new material required for a project, thereby minimizing the need to harvest virgin resources while extending the lifespan of existing materials. Materials that can be reused with minimal processing include support and building materials such as wood beams and flooring, metal beams, windows, plumbing, and other key components of the building structure. Fixtures are also reusable, including sinks, cabinets, toilets, and others. Most of these items require some processing prior to reuse, such as refinishing and removing nails from wooden planks, cleaning glass, and cleaning or re-enamelling fixtures.
The process of building deconstruction is used to salvage material, such as wood, from previously standing structures. Deconstruction is the careful and conscious disassembly of an existing building, undertaken for the purpose of salvaging as many reusable materials as possible. It differs from traditional building demolition, which tends to destroy many potentially reusable materials, particularly wood (1).
Case studies have shown that as much as 87% of wall plank wood, and 100% of floor board wood and joists salvaged from deconstructed buildings retain their original strength, and are therefore suitable for reuse. This wood can be stripped of existing nails, refinished, and reused in another project, or sold to recoup the cost of deconstruction labour. The profits generated from the sale of the lumber combined with the amount saved on purchase of new material often exceeds of the cost of labour required for the deconstruction (2).
The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) is in the process of creating new standards to facilitate material reuse in Canada. These standards will provide guidance on deconstructing buildings for the purpose of salvaging materials, and also describe building designs that can facilitate future recovery and reuse of materials (3).
Sources
1 Falk, B., 2002. Wood-Framed Building Deconstruction. Forest Products Journal vol. 52 no. 3, pp. 8-15.
2 NAHB Research Centre Inc., 1997. Deconstruction - Building Disassembly and Material Salvage: The Riverdale Case Study.
3 Castro, P. (Ed), 2007. Deconstruction without Destruction. Consensus vol. 34, p. 17.