Continuing a tradition of reused building materials is not just a nostalgic effort, but financially savvy – think about the cost of a sheet of plywood these days…😳. BUT ALSO the salvageable materials in pre-1940 homes are generally of a MUCH higher quality – that’s why homes built in the 1960s onward don’t stand square and pre-WWII ones still do. Wood used in pre-WWII homes is “old growth” – the trees had never been harvested and were tightly packed, having to compete for sunlight.The growing conditions and age before harvest made the resulting wood denser, rot-resistant and just STRONG (tradespeople – PLEASE stop saying “old 2×4’s are petrified and that’s why they’re so hard to cut through” 😩). FYI these old growth forests are relatively extinct in North America when it comes to harvesting wood, making these materials irreplaceable. And so much now often ends up in the landfill….
Cue people who GET IT – Sandi and Bud from Hall Environmental. 🥰 It’s not often that the team doing the demo on a project is as equally concerned about the reuse of material as they are about getting it trucked out so building can start. Sandi and Bud went above and beyond to make sure that as much as possible from was salvaged, and that the maximum number of people benefited. I can’t imagine the scheduling nightmare this has been, but they made a difference for SO many people, both from salvage acquisition and environmental consideration perspectives – THANK YOU, to you and your team!🥰🥰🥰
Many people have never thought about where the materials came from that built their house… But just as how you consider where your clothing/food comes from, consider the source of goods for (likely) your most significant financial purchase, and how much these materials cost the environment. Also, look up stats on world carbon emissions from building projects/construction materials – it’s startling.
