Demolition costs of decayed wood structure, electrical, mechanical, and exterior decks. Structural additions for earthquake resistance. Elevating the fireplace. As has been documented by a historical assessment, the Spruce Reach Island house does not embody distinctive characteristics of a building type, period, method of construction, or distinction for craftsmanship. However, the house was originally built with good quality materials.
Some wood is clear, vertical grain species which are rare and expensive to use today.
Some of this material can be salvaged and reused in the renovation, however this is very labor-intensive. It would be more cost-effective to carefully demolish the entire structure and salvage the good material. This material and additional new material could be used to build a smaller building which retains the character of the Spruce Reach Island house but would be much more energy efficient, would meet current code, and be less costly to maintain. As the BLM has discussed, this smaller building could be used for meetings, environmental education field classes, and other public events. Escalation in the construction industry is approximately 5 percent per year which makes any renovation more expensive as time goes by.