Second Life

   (http://reuseconex.org/)

and the Building Materials Reuse Association (BMRA) plan their upcoming deconstruction conference (May 2011)(http://bmra.org)

4-10 Mainstream moves
We continue to conquer different types of buildings, market and sell their materials, and create green collar jobs and benefit the community all at the same time.  Would someone please call us with an easy 100,000 sq ft warehouse?  All of these lower-value debris filled abandoned properties are tough!

 

Coming soon:
An update on the new RRP Lead Class from the EPA
An update on the new lead painted material rules.


3-10 RE-USE is on the move

RE-USE Consulting was asked to study and design and now help manage the nation's largest building deconstruction and building materials reuse training program.  We expanded on the City's original goals and now are very happy with the results.  Around one dozen reuse businesses will receive help through this program and almost 200 jobs will be created during this time.  Participants will learn about all aspects of the building material reuse industry.
  
  

1-10 RE-USE Consulting's current 14 building project was featured on Public Broadcasting television (PBS) stations in Jan 2010.  The project, the oldest underground power plant in the WORLD, is full of interesting materials that all help tell the Power Plant's story (click links): 

1-10 Thank you Buffalo Reuse, the people of Buffalo, and ABC for making Extreme Decon such a success - The two-hour episode of Extreme Home Makeover touched on building deconstruction, construction waste management, recycling, reuse, and even visited the Buffalo Reuse store!  I don't think we could have expected more. 
Here is what we have of the show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99qkxd0uxLk
http://www.movieweb.com/tv/TEEMDJGLAndLIL/VIzYTFAGpMyCEA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4k_X1VuDH4&NR=1
Deconstruction works... What are you waiting for?


12-09 Nationwide audience, meet hybrid building deconstruction.  Hybrid building deconstruction, meet the nationwide audience.
January 24th is the date for EXTREME DECON - Our team's full house decon on Extreme Home Makeover (Buffalo Reuse/RE-USE Consulting)
more soon...

11-09 The Challenge
 Fully deconstruct a building in 12 hours on national television! 
Stay tuned...

And the winner is...
Buffalo Reuse and RE-USE Consulting were successful in fully deconstructing a 2700 sq ft home in 15 hours in a project that will demonstrate the benefits of deconstruction to a national audience of over 31 million viewers!  Nice job Michael Gainer and Buffalo Reuse - we were happy to help!
 

10-09 On the road again
RE-USE is on the road again after several weeks in the office.  We spoke at the GRRN conference outside of Boston and then took down two buildings (totalling 4500 sq ft) in four days, continuing our experiments in the more aggressive building harvesting techniques designed for communities with few recycling options.  We continued our trip to consult on the removal of 18 more buildings that would have to be removed in 18 calendar days! 

Below: That's not a rake, this is a rake - seeing how carefully an excavator can rake the second floor for us.

Another win-win scenario
After our team submitted the winning bid on another prevailing wage job, we suggested that we turn the project into a fund-raiser for the school district we were working for.  The contractor, Mitchell Contractors, took it one step further, donating 100% of the sales of salvaged materials to the school district to buy equipment that the school couldn't afford due to budget cuts.  The 50' long 10x10 rough sawn trusses were returned to the owner so that they could be used in a future building. 

Green-jobs created - landfill diversion - donations to a school - owner reuse - all materials kept on the Island and all within a 7 mile radius of the jobsite.
  
8-09 100 windows in one day
Dave Bennink set his personal record by removing 100 windows in one 11 hr shift.  Think that 11 hrs is unfair and it should be based on an 8 hr shift?  Too bad, didn't ask you.  It wasn't really that hard (screwed-in/double caulked vinyl replacement frame windows), but it 100 still sounds nice. 
Chicago - The Windy City

RE-USE Training: RE-USE Consulting is working with the City of Chicago to start the largest deconstruction training program in the USA.  Over 140 green collar jobs will be created and Chicago's deconstruction industry will be built up, surpassing the efforts being made in most other cities around the Country.
7-09: WHAT ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN?
We are training and promoting deconstruction nationwide.
RE-USE Consulting continues to train and consult for new deconstruction and reuse operations around the USA.  We just completed three more trainings in the last five weeks, taking down three buildings and helping with two new stores selling used building materials. 

6-09:
If you have a historical building renovation project in Snohomish County, WA and would like some materials donated, let us know asap. 

CALL SOON IF INTERESTED
   

4-09:
RE-USE Consulting was asked to speak at the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Conference in Dallas, Tx and the Building Materials Reuse Association's Conference in Chicago, IL.

We were named
    National Building Deconstructor     of the Year - 2009
by the BMRA in Chicago!

3-09:
2009 Our Deconstruction Flood Relief Was A Success!
Our clients donated (6) 26' moving vans full of building materials
to families around the Pacific Northwest and we would like
to thank them for their efforts. 
Below: flood damage pictures- ruined flooring, doors, sheetrock, etc.
     


2-09:
2009 Deconstruction Flood Relief Effort
RE-USE Consulting is working together with multiple building owners to help victims of the flooding in January 2009. 

We intend to give away all of the doors, cabinets, trusses, lumber, and lots of other materials from 7-10 deconstructed buildings.  These materials are going to worthy and qualified families, farmers, and both for-profit and non-profit businesses, primarily in King, Snohomish, and Whatcom and Skagit Counties.

If you know of someone in need, please contact us ASAP using the 'contact us' page of this website.  RE-USE would like to thank the anonymous donors that are making this possible!

 
1-09Dave Bennink of RE-USE Consulting used to co-manage two used building material stores in Western Washington.  Now he is deconstructing one of them!  The old 30,000 sq ft Sash and Door building complex in Bellingham, WA is being partially deconstructed and Bennink is pleased to be involved.  Look at those 3x14s!


12-08 We had another successful training project in Cleveland, OH.  RE-USE Consulting worked with Urban Lumberjacks of Cleveland (ULOC) to take down an almost 2400 sq. ft. 2 1/2 story home.  Despite it being only there second project, it only took us 4 days to get the building down to the foundation, and about 1 1/2 days later to finish cleaning the site and to denail about 6500 board feet of lumber and flooring.
See: http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/01/deconstruction_salvages_abando.html
 


11-08 RE-USE News...
New Page on our Site: RE-USE in the News

We are happy to report that the 2008 Great Lakes Building Reuse Conference was successful and that Buffalo Reuse and the BMRA had about 140 participants in the first year.  RE-USE Consulting's full day workshop had about 40 in attendance.  We also traveled to Cleveland and helped the local group Urban Lumberjacks of Cleveland hit a home-run.  Despite many people losing interest in deconstruction in the area, we gave them a new perspective with the following:
1800 sq ft home - 2.5 stories - 4.75 crew members -
building down to foundation in 3.5 days - job complete in 5 days
If we had 6 people  (recommended for the Three-Day Decon system to work efficiently), we would have had the building down in 3 days and cleaned up/processed in 4.



10-08 Training and Retraining..
RE-USE Consulting has recently trained many of the big names in deconstruction including: Buffalo Reuse, Construction Junction, Build It Green NYC, and more.  What are you waiting for? Give us a call.

9-08 Nov. 19th, 2008 -Find out more: www.greatlakesreuse.org
We keep rolling - three buildings deconstructed in three weeks
totalling over 5100 sq ft. (in New Jersey and Pennslyvania).  These were all part of our Three Day Decon training program as we attempt to help create hundreds of 'GREEN COLLAR JOBS' through building deconstruction efforts.


8-08  RE-USE Consulting Promotes Building Deconstruction Nationwide
RE-USE is helping put together the 2008 Great Lakes Building Reuse Conference in Buffalo, NY Nov. 16-18.  We will also be offering a full-day workshop titled Designing a Project for Deconstruction on Nov. 19th after this event.

 
7-08 July was a huge month for RE-USE Consulting.  We helped our clients take down 17,000 sq ft of structures:
 2 garages, 2 homes, 1 interior decon project, 1 shed, 1 barn, 2 covered walkways, 5000 roof tiles, 800 sq ft deck
View from the deck (Beacon Rock in the Distance):

Find out about this jobsite at: www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_072808_news_gorge_home.109b73a0.html

6-08 RE-USE Consulting is in Forbes Magazine!   The article got some of the numbers wrong so contact us to see why 8 out of the last 10 buildings we worked on were completed for less than estimates for demolition.
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/0630/074.html

5-08 RE-USE Consulting recently helped out on a Washington State Heritage Barn Program jobsite.  We are hired to assist in the deconstruction of a 100+ yr old 15,000 sq ft barn so that the materials saved could be used to repair other heritage barns.  Around 40,000 board feet of beams, etc. were saved!

4-08 RE-USE Consulting's project of the month - a 1918 7500 sq ft home in New Jersey with a 1500 sq ft garage.  Our efforts on this single building will divert over a third of a million pounds of building materials from the landfill and save the owner over $20,000 compared to demolishing it!


   3-08 Sign up for the Great Lakes Deconstruction Conference in Buffalo, NY Nov. 2008 - contact us for details or click here

2/08 - NOW OPEN IN Mt. Vernon, WA: 
Skagit Building Salvage!
 
(see our Materials For Sale page for details)

1/08 - New website complete with bad grammar and other glitches - sorry too busy saving materials from the landfill to fix them.  More site updates each week.
12/07 - RE-USE chosen to help with fully deconstructing 5 apartment buildings totaling over 54,000 sq ft.
11/07 - RE-USE helping plan a new reusable building materials store in Western Washington State!
10/07 - RE-USE interviewed on National Public Radio and is mentioned
 in the NY Times
9/07 - RE-USE runs a salvage crew at ABC's Extreme Home Makeover project in Washington State
8/07 - RE-USE assists our client in labeling + panelizing the 1893 Richard R. White house prior to its move and reassembly on another site.
7/07 - Too long ago, can't remember. Oh yeah, RE-USE Consulting was runner-up for National Building Deconstructor of the Year - 2007!!