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Reusing Building Materials
There is a lot of talk in the building industry about using recycled materials in everything from sheathing and concrete to countertops, tile and flooring. Manufacturers market these products as green alternatives to products made from virgin and non-renewable resources. But is this enough? Most recycled-content products still require loads of energy to recover, ship, repackage, and deliver back to market; moreover the recycling process itself requires more energy and often leaves waste toxins behind.
Mike Fletcher (“Fletch” to friends and foes alike), the architect and developer for LEEDing Edge, uses the familiar mantra, “Reduce. Reuse. Recycle” as a guiding design principal. Fletch argues that the Three R’s are not to be considered equally, but represent a hierarchy of sustainability. Reduce First. When you must consume, then Reuse. When not possible or practical to Reuse, then Recycle.
So what about reusing building materials in our new buildings? We love old materials for their nostalgia, history and character. They cause us to pause and consider their past, and their story; they give us a connection to previous generation long passed and to the natural world in ways new products cannot. Manufacturers today even ‘distress’ new products to make them appear old and rustic in the hopes of making this connection. This often requires additional steps during manufacturing, using more energy and creating more waste.
Reused building materials not only protect our existing resources, but they also reduce our landfills. Roughly half of all landfill material is construction waste. Much of this is debris from demolition of existing buildings; how much of that debris could be reused? More importantly, who today is salvaging these materials and making them available for our reuse?
There are a number of businesses in the Atlanta area that specialize in reused and salvaged building materials. Of the reclaimed materials that Fletch has purchased for LEEDing Edge, perhaps the most exciting is the 200 year old reclaimed wood flooring and trim. Salvaged from an old Ohio home, the white pine has character and grain you cannot find in new wood flooring. The wood is provided by Piney Hill Wood Flooring, owned by the Hix Family in Chatsworth, GA. The Hix family has a fascinating history of their own. Their love affair with wood began with Ross’ father Kerry Hix, who began restoring and rebuilding mountain cabins nearly 50 years ago. His passion for the beauty and utility of wood has passed on to his sons – Aaron has become a widely-respected furniture maker, and Ross has grown the family business to include salvaging, milling and selling antique wood materials from old buildings.
As production and delivery energy costs continue to climb and our natural resources become depleted, the demand to reuse products and materials will grow even further, and reused building materials will be commonplace. This trend is beginning to have an impact on proactive designers as well. During World War II, the need for materials such as steel was so great that Ford Motor Company created “disassembly lines” to deconstruct old cars. Today, German law requires car manufacturers to build their cars to be dismantled and salvaged or recycled.
Imagine the possibilities if your home was designed to be deconstructed at the end of its useful life? It could move with you; it could expand and shrink to your needs without the expense and waste of traditional construction; and its pieces could become part of other people’s homes when you no longer need it. Architecture would mimic nature’s ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions…
Burke Sisco
in LEED, LEEDing Edge
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