I was thinking today that if you didn't see it in front of you, you would not believe that these kinds of small-town race and class divisions really exist in this day and age. But they do. In some parts of east Gainesville, including around the Depot Avenue area, there are 40 to 70 percent poverty rates. Deconstructing a house. For the past two and a half years, we have gotten funding to deconstruct old houses and analyze the cost-effectiveness of dismantling a building by hand to salvage and reuse as many of the materials as possible.
Traditional demolition is done with machinery and all of the waste is thrown away.
Salvaged lumber from deconstruction projects. Still, though it takes longer and is more expensive and labor-intensive than traditional demolition, the disposal fees are lower and there is a potential return from the value of the salvaged materials. If disposal fees are high and the building has good salvage, in particular wood flooring, it may actually be more cost-effective to deconstruct. Aside from reducing the need for virgin resource extraction, deconstruction can also create jobs and make building materials available for lower-income persons and future historic preservation work. Buildings could be constructed from non-toxic materials that are readily repairable and adaptable and that would help minimize wastes and pollution.