Our United Villages

deconstruction : n. 1. the selective disassembly of a building structure in reverse order of assembly, usually by hand to maximize the re-harvest of materials for reuse. 2. an essential component of sustainble, green building.

Since 1999, DeConstruction Services of The ReBuilding Center has helped hundreds of homeowners, contractors and others with remodeling and building removal projects of all scopes and sizes.

2008 was a productive year for DeConstruction Services. The phone rang off the hook, yielding 569 intakes. These eventually became 122 projects, supplying The ReBuilding Center with materials from:

• 26 whole houses and apartments
• 18 detached garages
• 16 partial structures
• 3 really BIG barns
• 29 kitchens
• 19 skims
• 8 bathrooms (plus 74 hotel baths to date)
• 6 chimneys

Just for fun DeConstruction Services also took apart:

• 1 tiny shed
• 1 funky foundation
• 1 huge bookshelf
• 1 personal rock climbing wall
• 1 beautiful Brazilian cherry floor
• 1 WWII PT Boat
• 2 basements

During 2008, DeConstruction Services also engaged in projects to help promote the use of deconstruction over traditional demolition. We:

• Hosted an intern to create a proposal to train professional Interior Designers in the use deconstruction methods.
• Worked with PSU students to create the DeConstruction Density Mapping Project to promote more deconstruction over demolition!
• Provided resources and advise for 8 organizations interested in deconstruction.

We are very pleased to see such positive support of DeConstruction Services and the process of deconstruction in general. We look forward to another fantastic year and want to extend our sincere gratitude to all those in the community who continue to support and promote our efforts. To learn more about DeConstruction Services, visit our website, www.rebuildingcenter.org/deconstruct