Deconstruction of Homes

Habitat Goes Green by Recycling Houses

We recently completed deconstruction of our third and fourth houses thanks to a generous donation from Zion Properties LLC. These have been exciting projects for us. All items salvaged from these houses goes to our ReStore. The proceeds from the sale of these items will go into the building of another Habitat home, thus the recycling of a home.

Deconstruction reduces the disposal of materials into the landfill. The average deconstruction project has the following benefits:

1. 60%-90% of the materials are salvaged
2. Provide 6,000 board feet of lumber -- the equivalent of saving 33 mature trees!!
3. The average home contains 892 million btu's of embodied energy, an amount equal to 7,826 gallons of gasoline -- enough to drive an SVU 5.5 times around the Earth.
4. Every 3 square feet of salvaged materials can build 1 square foot of new construction.
5. EVERY YEAR the amount of construction debris placed in landfills equals the amount of material that could build a wall 30' high and 30' thick that could encompass the entire continental United States.
6. The microorganisms that decompose this debris will release about 5 million tons of carbon equivalent in the form of methane gas. This is equivalent to the yearly emissions of 3,736,000 passenger cars.

If you are interested in working on future deconstruction projects, give us a call at 575-9696 or email Michelle Davis, our Volunteer Coordinator (michelle@habitat.arcoxmail.com), to check the schedule.

Volunteers from the University of Arkansas help with deconstruction of a home on Zion Road.

Adam Oliver, U of A architecture student, helps remove beams from a house on Zion Road.