community
Deconstruction to Demolition – The Process
By Jamie Jones
Housing Rehabilitation and Demoli-
tions Specialist
Community Action Team, Inc
will also go to the metal bins. Depend-
ing on what type of siding is on the
home, residents have asked to salvage
the siding; however, not all siding is re-
cyclable. If the siding has lead-based
paint, it must be removed in a specific
manner and sent to Waste Management,
where they will dispose of it properly.
Next, all the roofing materi-
als are removed. Most roofs, so far,
have been composite shingles. This
material is recycled at the contrac-
tor’s yard, sorted to remove nails, then
ground up and blended with concrete.
Metal roofs will be salvaged through
Metro Metals. Wood roofs will go into
the wood reserve on the mill site pad.
When the structure is down to
the wood studs, the demolition starts.
Custom Excavating tries to knock the
structure down in a way that allows
most beams to be preserved. All the
wood not salvaged off the property site
is taken over to the mill site, where it
will be available for salvage until a later
date. Pressure-treated wood is being
set aside for the Skills Park. Any wood
that is not salvaged
from the mill site
will be ground down
to make hog fuel for
the GP Wauna Mill.
The grinder pulls out
all the nails and a bin
catches them so they,
too, can be recycled.
Finally,
the
structure is down to
the subfloor. The
wood, metal, plas-
tic and insulation
items are disposed
of as described ear-
lier. While removing
concrete, the primary
waste pipe is located,
capped and signed off
as complete by Vernonia Public Works.
come home to many small critters.
As they work on the walls and The concrete and asphalt are broken
studs, all metals –
copper, iron, alu-
minum, sheet met-
al, and wire – are
sorted into bins
supplied by Metro
Metals. Plastic-
type piping – wa-
ter, waste and
drain – go in the
bin and are split
between Custom
Excavating and
Waste Manage-
ment. Any carpet
remaining on the
ground floor will
be thrown away.
U n f o r t u n a t e l y,
so far, no carpet
found on the second floor has been in
good enough shape to reuse. Anything
that can be reused will be available for
a small cost and/or donated to local resi-
dents. These items include: windows
and doors, wood floors and paneling, ap-
pliances, cabinets, ceiling fans, brick/tile
veneers, fireplace mantels, and sinks.
Once the inside has been gutted,
the contractor will remove the windows
and doors on the first level. Second-level
windows are also available if requested
ahead of time. Windows and doors have
been made available to the public at no
cost. If unclaimed, the vinyl windows
are thrown away, vinyl is not recyclable.
The metal from the windows will go
into the metal bins and the wood to the
wood pile. Any hardware not claimed
bin, is taken back to the contractor’s yard
and sorted for nails. The nails are later
combined with the other metals and the
sheetrock will be blended with recycled
concrete. Insulation is removed and put
When someone says “Demos,” in a separate bin. Sometimes insulation
my first thought is a building being can be recycled, but most of these build-
imploded from the inside out. The re- ings have been sitting since the flood, so
search I’ve done on flooded properties the insulation is dirty, moldy and has be-
elsewhere showed homes
being knocked over with a
wrecking ball or an excava-
tor, while a truck sprayed
water to keep the dust down
during the entire project.
I was a bit disheartened
with the process. Thank-
fully, to Custom Excavating
and Trails End Recovery,
“demo” means deconstruc-
tion and recovery of mate-
rials. So one might won-
der, what is involved in
deconstructing a building?
Once you enter into
this type of contract, the
first step is to get the per-
mits. Many people think
that a permit is unnecessary
but, yes, you do need a building permit
to tear a house down-- for some very
good reasons. Most people don’t realize
that permits are protection for the owner
and the contractor, and are important in
removing a building. This is particu-
larly true with the utilities serving the
building. All utilities must be discon-
nected from the property before work-
ing on the building. Also required is a
flood plain permit. Our flood ordinance
requires that the city review anything
built or demolished in the floodplain.
The homes to be demolished are
also tested for lead and asbestos. While
this is usually a must in older homes,
we’re required by our grant funders to
make sure this is done. One example
illustrating why this is required is the
house that was painted with lead-based
paint within the last ten years, 30 years
after it was banned. Many of these
older homes also have asbestos ceil-
ings and asbestos tiles. The hazards in
these homes are mitigated separately by
a trained asbestos removal team before
the contractor can remove anything.
During this time, the various
utility companies are also contacted.
WOEC cuts the lines at the boxes, be-
low ground or at the weatherheads, and
then removes the meters. Public Works
caps the water pipes and removes the
meter. The gas company caps their line
at the main junction and at the struc-
ture before the meter is removed. At
this point, the contractor can pull up
any pipes that are still in the ground.
Now that it’s safe to knock
things around, the contractor tears out
the sheetrock. This goes in a separate
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2011
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down into smaller pieces to be taken to
the mill site, where they are sorted, bro-
ken down further and prepared for crush-
ing. When sufficient material has been
accumulated, a crusher will be brought
in to crush the concrete. If taken back
to the contractor’s yard, the concrete
will also be blended with the shingles
and drywall. The crusher also sorts
out nails and rebar for Metro Metals.
Depending on the depth of the
home’s foundation, what remains is a 1-3
foot depression where the structure was
located. This depression will be filled,
leveled and seeded with grass during the
spring months. Local, clean fill will be
used whenever possible and taken from
other locations within the floodplain.
Custom
Excavating
has
been offering recycling and recovery
services for ten years and has built a
solid reputation in reducing landfill
waste. It is clear that the company and
its employees care about what they are
doing and how they leave the site. They
seem committed to getting a site as clean
as possible before moving on to the next
project. They’ve invested time in our
community and have been giving back
by allowing people to have many of the
salvageable items at little or no cost. If
you’d like additional information about
them, visit their website at http://www.
trailsendrecovery.com/Home.html.
While the demolition is a
fascinating process to watch, it’s also
sad to see some of our older homes
disappearing. On the upside, we’re
gradually clearing the flood plain to
make our town more resilient and at the
same time creating some awesome park
space for the next Friendship Jamboree.
There’ll be many new places to sit and
enjoy a meal, beverage and the view.
Remember, our contract with
the demolition contractor gives all
salvage rights to Custom Excavation.
That means the salvage value of
each component of the
property belongs to them.
Taking anything from one
of the properties to be
demolished is theft. Those
interested in obtaining
salvaged components must
contact the contractor
for permission and sign
a release before taking
anything off the property.
If you have questions about
the deconstruction/demos,
call Alex Raichl, Custom
Excavating at (503) 741-
6867, or Jamie Jones at
CAT, Inc., (503) 429-4948.
