Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Jordan
Hey, I was asked what you do with an abandoned home. Supposedly, if it was still in usable shape, it wouldn't be abandoned...
Assuming, then, that the house as-is is not usable, recycling its materials into a new dwelling makes sense. And as I said, it might cost more to tear it apart, but as others have pointed out, it is a source of jobs. And I maintain that repurposing used materials is still better than mining and milling new materials.
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Not only that, but I have a number of friends in architectural salvage. People pay big bucks for parts of old houses .... doors, floor boards, windows, ... even old barn wood goes for a premium these days. Granted, it's more the case with turn of the century stuff (rather than a lot of the crapola that was built in the 50s and 60s), but ... if an old door can be recycled as a "vintage" door, and some idiot in my town is willing to pay $3000 dollars for it ... well then ... why not??
The value of much of the material could be several times the value of the house ... even if it was taken apart bit by bit. And, as to some of it ... how hard can it be to take down a door?? Even if it's not the greatest looking door .... I have friends who will repurpose it as a headboard or a coffee table and charge a freaking mint for it. (A little joint compound here ... some paint and stain there ... and bingo ... fine art!!)
You know ... maybe 35 years ago, they were demolishing this old hotel in downtown Los Angeles. They had people lining up to purchase parts from it. I got a lot of furniture (for about 1 cent on the dollar), and people were grabbing bricks right left and sideways. There is a big market for used bricks ... has been for a long time.
If you want to see a building taken down fast ... just tell a bunch of decorators that they can take whatever they can carry ... one cent on the dollar of wholesale value. Building will go *poof-vanished* and all will be recycled into the homes of professional football and baseball players.