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Did you know that 1/3 of all garbage in our landfills comes from construction waste, most of which can be reused / recycled? Kurt Buss is doing this and has decided to do something to reduce that number. Kurt Buss is a construction contractor. He compares himself to Robin Hood: “I get things from the rich because they are people who can benefit from the tax break, and I will sell it cheaply or give it to people who cannot afford to buy new goods to upgrade their homes.”
Kurt began his deconstruction career working for Eco-Cycle, Resource 2000. For 6 years he managed a recycling / sales yard and helped Resource 2000 grow into the company he is now. ReUse People of America mirrors where Resource was 7 or 8 years ago. When asked if TRP is now a competitor to Resource 2000, Kurt explained: “We are both nonprofits, we can benefit and share resources with each other. We compete for customers, yes, but moreover, we are both trying to work with the City of Boulder to do more deconstruction work. Resource 2000 aims to provide a place of supply for homeowners.
In particular, TRP works with whole house demolition contractors to keep house parts, door assemblies, etc. together. This process helps maintain a more profitable inventory. We also donate materials to Habitat for Humanity and similar places. The biggest competitor to both non-profit organizations is a bulldozer and a landfill. Until you take tax deductions into account, demolition and landfilling is cheaper than deconstruction and recycling. A tax deduction is what helps to offset costs for the homeowner.
This of course requires additional planning on the part of the homeowner. TRP uses an independent external appraiser to first assess the value of the materials to be transferred to the recycling center. Everything is carefully inventoried from the demo sites that benefit from the tax deduction. TRP recommends that the demolition be performed by a certified contractor. A large part of the costs is the contracted labor hired to demolish the house. Working hours themselves are not tax deductible, but are largely offset by savings on tax deductions. Kurt personally visits the demo site for the first few days to make sure that the most valuable materials are properly recovered for reuse.
This of course requires additional planning on the part of the homeowner. TRP uses an independent external appraiser to first assess the value of the materials to be transferred to the recycling center. Everything is carefully inventoried from the demo sites that benefit from the tax deduction. TRP recommends that the demolition be performed by a certified contractor. A large part of the costs is the contracted labor hired to demolish the house. Working hours themselves are not tax deductible, but are largely offset by savings on tax deductions. Kurt visits the demo site in person for the first few days to make sure that the most valuable materials are properly recovered for reuse.
From TheReusePeople.org:
The example is a composite based on real workplaces and serves here for an economic comparison between deconstruction and demolition. This composite is a 2,200 square foot single story home plus garage, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, raised foundation, composite shingle, single glazed windows, carpeted floors, wooden floors and a 12 x 40 wooden deck. Costs do not include removing concrete slabs , sidewalks, foundations or asphalt, but include leaving the site clean as a rake (no debris).
In the machine demolition scenario, the owner pays $ 10,100, but in the TRP demolition scenario, the homeowner gets $ 4,702 after tax credits. In other words, the owner would be financially better off at $ 14,802 ($ 4,702 received through tax credits compared to paying $ 10,100 for demolition costs). Now it’s time for reservations. The numbers vary depending on the location, age and condition of the house and the materials, topography, type of siding and interior walls, distance from the TRP, amount of waste deposited, etc. Nevertheless, economics almost always prefer deconstructing a TRP to demolition.
** Total materials (wood, plywood, cabinets, plumbing and electrical, doors, windows, etc.) are typically valued at $ 77,000 to $ 112,000 in good working order. Assuming the tax threshold is 33% (federal only – will be greater in states with additional income tax), the after-tax cash value, based on a typical valuation of $ 88,000, is $ 29,040.
Reuse People of America began in April 1993 with a building material procurement campaign to help flood victims in Tijuana, Mexico. The action, the Valle Verde Project, was planned and coordinated with the Mayors of Tijuana and San Diego, San Diego Chamber of Commerce, County Board of Governors, San Diego Gas and Electric Company, Waste Management and the Construction Industry Association. The success of the Valle Verde Project demonstrated the demand for used building materials and the impact of this need on our already over-used and over-involved landfills.
Currently, The Reuse People of America has offices and facilities in San Diego, Orange / Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Washington, and Boulder, Colorado. Kurt Buss manages the Boulder business via telephone, fax, credit card, no internet, running water and his own laptop. “It’s just like Home Depot,” says Kurt, “but you have to start somewhere.” They are currently looking for new space to rent in the Denver metro area. Their reason for moving is simply to get closer to the larger population that will come and buy their materials. There is a lot of deconstruction work out there, but most people choose a “quick and easy” demolition / disposal process over deconstruction that requires more effort.
Kurt and his staff work hard to keep the products in order so that people can see all the goods available. The Lafayette warehouse is open Thursday through Saturday. some days are busier than others, depending on the weather and day of the week. Most of the customers do it themselves and bring hand-drawn pictures of what they need with them. The job of the staff is to help the client find what he needs. I have found this highly organized, upscale junkyard is the perfect place to find something like a 1950s table for just $ 30!
On days when the warehouse is not open, Kurt is busy bidding on deconstruction works. In order for the company to function, they must have 30 deconstructions per year. When the assignment is under contract, Kurt is on the job for the first day or two to show the crew what can be salvaged and how it should be salvaged. Kurt likes to disassemble the most delicate materials himself to make sure they will be saved for resale. Crews are hired by a certified Deconstruction Contractor and trained in this process to best salvage the goods for reuse.
“The most frustrating thing in the industry, says Kurt, is getting people to do something new – an alternative to the way things used to be. Younger people are more interested in recycling and reuse than older business people. there are more and more people who are interested. “The key is educating the public – the more people know there are opportunities, the more the industry will grow. Due to the non-profit budget they operate on, they found the best form of advertising to be word of mouth Kurt’s regional office is a member of the BGBG, The Boulder Green Builders Guild, a group of architects, builders, builders, real estate brokers and other environmental professionals who have been a good source of TRP referrals and help with the education process.
The bottom line is that deconstruction creates jobs, saves money and contributes to the health of our planet. Provides cheap materials to people who need them. The most important part of the process is planning. If you are interested in deconstruction, get in touch with someone like Kurt in your area who is a deconstruction contractor.
Kurt’s five favorite tools
1. DeNailer by ReConnx, Inc – Created specifically for deconstruction, fires nails.
2. Milwaukee Saber Saws – Reliable
3. 18 V Dewalt cordless drills
4. Demonstration saws for cutting backlash from foundations
5. Makita circular saw
* Battery powered tools are most often needed as the power is cut from the house. It is important to turn off the power before disassembling so as not to cut the live wires.
8 pieces of important safety equipment for demolition:
1. Safety glasses – something always flies
2. Hard helmets
3. Steel shoe inserts.
4. Robust work shoes
5. Particle masks / masks with cartridge filter
6. Electric cable tester for testing live cables
7. First aid kit
8. Common sense