Hey everyone. Just thought I’d open up this can of worms: For those of us doing remodel work, how do you ethically justify tearing out perfectly good materials just because they do not match the tastes of the new homeowners? It just seems like we are contributing to the wastefulness of american society. But then again, without those jobs, no work! It is a quandary that I am having trouble with. I just tore out brand new carpet and vinyl so that we could put in hardwood. We save as much as we can but…there’s only so much you can do. I dunno. Thoughts?
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Thoughts?
You are right, it is not a good thing to waste good usable material. And it is impossible for you to save and store much of it. All I can do is network with as many "re-users" as I can, whether they be salvage yards, the "hunter" trash hauler, womens shelter, Humane society, half-way house/shelter, whatever. Anyone that can use it, find out who they are and keep in touch. Save the landfill space for all the lazy scuzbags that trash anything-usable of not.
Like you say, it is our livelihood.
A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
not be'n an a-hole.... but I'd sure find something better to worry about.
I'm sure in about 50% of what you do or consume there is someone somewhere that would or could find issue with it...
at best if it bothers you... do everything you can to not be wasteful in your own life... I know there are things i do that conserve that might make zero difference... things as small as not letting the water run at any time i don't have to... might not be much... and I'm not anal about it ....
peace
p
I'm not saying it is my number one worry in life, but I don't see what the problem with worrying about or concerning one's-self with not filling up landfills with perfectly good building materials.
We recycle outdated materials and fixtures by donating them to the Habitat for Humanity Resale Shop. We've given carpet, appliances, light fixtures, etc... I hate throwing out stuff in clean working order cause someone having rough times might need a fairly new dishwasher that was replaced only because the current style is now stainless steel.
I've picked up some pretty good stuff there too. Once I saw a seven foot tall ornately carved throne for $275.00, like a king would sit on. If I had the room I would have bought it.
Constructing in metric...
every inch of the way.
I was talking with my brother yesterday, he's in the midst of a remodel and is tearing stuff out that only barely passes the "still useable" test. Yes, he is teraing it out for aesthetic reasons, but I have a hard time arguing with removing the wall of gold-veined mirror tile, or the matching shag carpet, even if it is still in good condition.
Anyway, he told me about a service available to him there which I think he called "precycle." Basically, he lists serviceable items on a website, if somebody wants it, they email him and they make arrangments for pickup. He has gotten rid of a bath tub, shower doors, closet doors, and some other stuff. Maybe somebody here is from northern Ohio and can tell us more about this. Sounded to me like a pretty good program. You could do the same thing with Craigs List if that is active in your area. It's free, and you can tell people if they want it, they have to come get it on your schedule.
It's called "freecycle" and is only available in certain markets.
Really good idea.
Look it up.[email protected]
It's Never Too Late To Become What You Might Have Been
what about tearing down whole houses?? i was part of a project in which a small, but perfectly intact two story house was torn down to be replaced wiht a practical and asthetically reasonable new house. the house turned out great, in fact it blends so nicely with the neighborhood that you would never know that it was new construction from the design. but i couldn't have helped but wonder about the material that would have been great for years to come being wasted.
the funniest part of the story is that these same HO's bought a newly remodled lake house about 100yards from the house we built for them. the plan is to tear it down and we will be building something new in it's place. do i think it's wasteful and un practical? you bet. will i build the place? sure why not.
Tearing down whole houses brings back a memory. Gather round all you children.
Maybe 12-14 years ago. We were first starting out. Undersized equipment. We had been working with a high end contractor for a bit. He starts in on a home on a lake. Just a small remodel. Fix a few closets, rip out the tile floor. This home was in an exclusive community. Right on a lake. Used to be called Sucker Lake. For the fish, not the homeowners. Had to change the name of that lake to be "High end", LOL
Oh, yeah. They took off the tile roof too. After a few weeks I could see this was getting out of hand. Too big for us. So, we back out. Go back a few weeks later...........roof off.............house down to bare studs. Hmmm. Glad we backed out.
Go back 6 months later...............house gone. LOL
Now this house was brand new. Never been lived in. New owner to select carpet. Wow. All gone. And one of my employees swears there was a house on this lot BEFORE this home went in.
And so they built another home there. Mason said he spent 4 birthdays there. Lots of sstonework. We called it the Mistake by the lake.
Now that my friend is waste. Watcha going to do?
It sucks.
I cringe all the time.
Recently we tore out brand new cabinets and granite tops. I mean brand new. Owner closed sale on brand new house on Friday, we were ther Monday am and tore it all out.
It's sitting in their garage. Just think of all the energy and manpower (forget about the materials themselves for a moment) that went into creating these products. It's all gone, none recoverable.
But ya know what? It's what keeps us busy. Fills the bank account so my check clears on Friday afternoon. It's a societal thing. As an individual you may feel helpless. But as Calvin and others have pointed out, there are ways to lessen the negative impact.
And hey; don't let ponytail get ya, he's got the word on a lot of things.
[email protected]
It's Never Too Late To Become What You Might Have Been
You are only focusing on a small portion of what a remodel is all about--like taking a small section of speach out of context.
I would counter that many people are being just as wasteful by not remodeling. Not only do we upgrade the insulation, but often have a much better HVAC system, better insulated doors and windows, safer electrical system, and better air quality.
Well designed modern construction can last indefinitely with proper maintenance, and be much safer for the occupants.
Running a house into the ground until it's a shack is not in society's best interest, nor that of the neighbors, so proper remodeling is good for the country in the big picture as well as residents locally.
As for throwing out perfectly good items, they are only perfectly good to someone else. If you feel guilty simply recycle. It's quite easy to recycle much of the waste produced in a remodel. Green building is alive and well in the remodeling community.
Good recycling!
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
I'll tell you I probably wouldn't have thought twice about it, before I started taking stuff to the landfill. When confronted with the sheer magnitude of what gets tossed on a daily basis, I'm no longer interested in contributing to that pile.
Fortunately, the trash yard in Montgomery Co., MD has a robust recycling program. Scrap metal, wood, stone, brick, tile, concrete, etc. can all be taken there. Serviceable cabinets, plumbing fixtures and the like can all be sent through there to the Habitat for Humanity program. So I'm willing to drive 45 minutes to get there as opposed to taking it to the local landfill in VA.
Hey, there's always the taste issue to contend with. As well as shoddy workmanship. Nobody likes pink toilets. And no one likes to tear out 4 year old marble showers because the previous installer slapped it up right onto drywall. No Kerdi, no vapor barrier, nothing but a mold factory. Sheesh.