After more a decade in the Vancouver construction industry, Adam Corneil couldnB次元官网网址檛 stomach to watch another load of old-growth lumber go from a demolished home to the incinerator.
A builder since his teenage days, Corneil, 35, had made a side career of rescuing and refurbishing old-growth wood and other materials from homes set to be demolished.
In the meantime, he watched as demolition crews sent endless amounts of old-growth lumber from century-old homes to the incinerator.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e seen old-growth go to the landfill or, in Vancouver, into a chipper and used for energy, and it just drives me crazy,B次元官网网址� Corneil said.
Until now, itB次元官网网址檚 only been the B次元官网网址渃owboy salvagersB次元官网网址� out there picking through soon-to-be-demolished homes. Salvagers seek everything from clapboard siding to old fixtures such as doors, doorknobs, hinges, and especially old-growth oak and fir flooring, and floor joists.
With the climate crisis in our face, and the need to keep forests in the ground, Corneil recognized an opportunity for a holistic approach to demolition. He shifted his Vancouver construction business two years ago into a deconstruction company called the Unbuilders, and business is good.
B次元官网网址淭hree years ago we were building a house in Vancouver,B次元官网网址� Corneil said. B次元官网网址淚 took the whole crew off the job and over to a deconstruction site until it was done. That was our first job.B次元官网网址�
Last year the Vancouver crew deconstructed 21 houses and another 12 renovations for 33 projects.
| Unbuilders employee Eric Vanstone carefully chips the stucco off the side of a salvaging project. The crews carefully deconstruct old homes to rescue as many reusable materials as possible, including old growth timber. (Unbuilders photo) |
Unbuilders now have a Vancouver Island crew led by Dan Armishaw in Nanaimo. They completed their first Island deconstruction on Saturday, including a used lumber sale in the front yard of the 1905 home at 240 Wilson St. in Vic West.
Prior to this, Corneil was a cowboy salvager himself. ItB次元官网网址檚 easy to pick out the high-value goods, he noted, but itB次元官网网址檚 taken a lot of work figuring out how to make B次元官网网址渄econstruction by handB次元官网网址� a cost-competitive option compared to regular demolition.
The answer was partnering with a charity, Habitat for Humanity, and also with The ReUse People.
B次元官网网址淏ecause of our partnership with Habitat for Humanity the homeowner gets a tax receipt,B次元官网网址� Corneil said. B次元官网网址淯p-front, the costs for deconstruction are more than demolition but the tax receipt drives it down to be cost-competitive or even less. Plus, itB次元官网网址檚 much better for the environment.B次元官网网址�
This week the Unbuilders bought all the reclaimed lumber that didnB次元官网网址檛 sell at 240 Wilson St. and it remains for sale, stored at a site in Nanaimo.
The rest of the reclaimed goods, which in this case includes doors and cabinets, were donated to Habitat for Humanity.
B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e an all-star charity, weB次元官网网址檙e so happy to work with them,B次元官网网址� Corneil said.
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Corneil has met with representatives from the municipalities in the Lower Mainland, the City of Victoria, and the Capital Regional District, in hopes of more aggressive policies for deconstruction.
In Vancouver, homes built before 1950 must have 75 per cent of non-hazardous materials recycled. That minimum is 90 per cent if the home is deemed a B次元官网网址榗haracter house.B次元官网网址� ItB次元官网网址檚 only for houses from 1910 and older than must be deconstructed and have a minimum wood salvage of three metric tonnes.
B次元官网网址淪omething we stress is that even though weB次元官网网址檙e a relatively young country and our cities are young, they were built with ancient lumber that took 500 years to grow,B次元官网网址� Corneil said. B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e milled from trees here in the region, old-growth fir thatB次元官网网址檚 now extremely hard and strong. ItB次元官网网址檚 really high-grade lumber that we donB次元官网网址檛 see today.B次元官网网址�
