There are several benefits to deconstruction versus mechanical demolition: environmental benefits, historical preservation and job creation are the big three. Shawn Wood, a construction waste specialist for the city of Portland, Oregon shares how its deconstruction ordinance came about.
Wood said around 2013-2014 the country was coming out of a recession, and the city saw a “sharp uptick in house demolition permits.” Most of Portland’s demolitions are driven by new development. Around that time, he conversed with a local nonprofit organization that was doing deconstruction. They began thinking about how they could level the playing field for deconstruction. “It’s a hard sell when deconstruction costs more and takes longer, than demolition,” he said. “But the outcome is much better.”
The city was receiving complaints and concerns from neighborhood groups who were asking the city to halt demolitions and preserve the modest housing. “Huge McMansions were going up towering over the tiny homes next door,” Wood said, adding that in 2014 someone could walk in to the permit division and get a permit over the counter and have the house razed within a couple of hours.
The neighborhood groups went to the city council asking that the permit bureau shore up the system requiring notification of neighbors. A deconstruction advisory group was formed including Rebuild — the nonprofit group — for-profit deconstruction companies, Habitat for Humanity, homebuilders, developers, representatives from the permitting bureau, and historic preservation and neighborhood groups.
The advisory group brought a proposal to the city council to start giving voluntary incentives for deconstruction and requirements phased in over time. The city developed a grant program giving $2,500 to $3,000 to deconstruction projects that anyone involved could apply for.
The neighborhood groups wanted everything to be deconstructed, but those that sold the materials said they wouldn’t be able to handle it and costs would go down. But in 2018, “It became clear demolition permits had peaked in 2016 and were starting to go down.”
Wood became concerned whether there would be enough demand for the materials so they wouldn’t eventually end up in the landfill. A whole infrastructure had been built because of the ordinance — new deconstruction companies formed, new retailers developed to sell materials and lines of furniture had been developed using salvaged materials. The city was supporting workforce training, etc.
Now they are seeing voluntary deconstruction projects of homes built in the 1950s and 1960s. The upside is the cost of deconstruction has gone down over the five years, and the cost of mechanical demolition has gone up. Portland went from two companies doing deconstruction to 15 to 16 certified companies doing the work, with a half dozen doing the majority of the projects. Some of those companies have opened their own retail showrooms to sell salvaged materials.
Wood said the neighborhood groups really recognized the benefits of the way hazardous materials were handled in deconstruction projects. If hidden asbestos was found, contractors stopped work and called in hazardous materials abatement companies to remove it. He said that didn’t happen in mechanical deconstruction — the excavator allows asbestos and lead dust to go everywhere.
You can see the salvaged materials in bars and restaurants in the city, and Wood believes they’ll see that being more of a focus because salvaged materials have less of an impact on the environment. He said processing metals and virgin wood uses a lot of energy and releases carbon in the air. He said two elements are needed for the salvaged materials: for-profit retailers for higher value materials and nonprofits for reusing smaller valued items like doors, fixtures, etc.
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