Kenosha Deconstruction- COMPLETE

In July of 2008 Pragmatic Construction deconstructed an 1881 farmhouse in the town of Paris, WI.  

Deconstruction, also known as Un-Building, very different from demolition.

The home, ready to be deconstruted.

The first step in deconstruction is called "soft-stripping."  This consists of removing cabinetry, appliances, window/door casing and any architectural pieces...

...and any "left-behind" items to be protected (such as the early 1900s baby grand piano, made in Milwaukee).

Cabinetry is denailed and protected for shipping to the ReStore, where it will wait to find a new home.

All trim is denailed in place to facilitate safe transportation.  Tetanus shots should be updated before a deconstruction is initiated, jic.

Denailed...



Grouped by size and wrapped in manageable bundles for transport.



Doors are then removed with jambs intact.  It is infinitely easier to rehang them in a new application if you don't have to make a custom jamb.  A little careful sawzalling (that is a word) is all it takes.

The kitchen cabinetry is almost removed.  Soon we will need to cut the power to the home for safety.

Encouraging the sink loose from the countertop.

Cast iron tub prepped for removal.

"Poof" it magically disappears.  (The actual process of carrying out cast iron tubs is too horrific to post).

Kitchen cleared of all cabs, counters and fixtures.

All "soft" items staged for transport.  For this project we were able to utilize an attached garage for weather-tight storage.

Carpets removed, hardwood floors revealed.  These are yellow pine, 3/4" tongue-and-groove, 6" width, with up to 20' lengths!!! (Try to find 20 footers at your local hardwood dealers today...)  These boards received a new installation in a home in Hudson, WI.

Pulling rails and banisters.

The aftermath of denailing.  Next- roller-magnet, bucket, recycle.

Dumpster organization is critical.  We think carefully about maximizing packing efficiency to save money on tipping fees.  At the time of this deconstruction we had not been able to source any local organizations who would take carpet or asphalt shingles.  We have subsequently found both, and are now able to recycle all but a tiny fraction of a home (mostly plaster and lathe or drywall).  Carpet is taken by Substiwood of Milwaukee- check their link for awesome high-fly ash and recycled content concrete products (parking barriers, landscape materials, hearths, fountains and tons more.)

Shot of the landfill 1/2 mile away to which we sent very little of this home.

Charlie, our Chief Deconstructor.  Note safety glasses and dust mask- work safe.

Beautiful Newell post, ready to go.

Time for the nasty part- plaster and lathe.  For this it is best to cut an "H" into the wall- two vertical lines and a horizontal connector.  We then peel apart the sections.  In this case we had heavy wire mesh- the worst.  Takes quite a bit longer and increases one's appreciation of drywall.

When you are through one side clean, it is easy to sledge-punch (another decon word) the other side out. At this time we do not know a good method to efficiently save period wallpaper :-(



Down to the studs- in this case true dimensional lumber (full 2"x4" vs. 1 1/2 x 3 1/2" modern stock) douglas fir.  The home was balloon-framed, per period, and had 2x4s over 20' in length.  

Dust and mess.

And more of the same.

Daily cleanup is critical to keep order and safety on the jobsite.

Interior work done, time to pull the roof.  In this case we cut sheathing and shingles into manageable chunks and dumpstered.  Now we have the ability to do a formal roof tear-off and recycle our shingles.

As the roof demo progresses, we uncover the fantastic rafters- 18' and in perfect shape.  

"Buzz-cut"

Rafters staged for organizing and transport.

Gable-view

Radio-view. 89.7 Milwaukee Public Radio and 88.9 Radio Milwaukee.

Helpful tip- denail your interior studs in place for easier denailing leverage, safer walking around (see tetanus, above) and faster lumber organization.

Helpful tip: dry your wet and filthy Pragmatic Construction t-shirts on floor-trusses.

The whole crew is assembled for some delicate wall-tipping.  The wall is cut at the floor and tipped in, or out, with or without ropes, as site conditions dicate.

"Boom"

...and the inside is now outside.

Floor joists- over 24' long.

Cedar siding- very delicate and difficult to salvage.  We got quite a bit of this off in condition for re-use, but lots lost to splitting.  On other cedar removals we have had better luck- this siding was pretty thinly milled.

 

All project metal segregated and recycled. Due to current copper prices we had to protect the site against thievery. 

(Fore more info on why prices are so high...see peak copper in this Yale study  (by Gordon, Bertram and Graedel)

Synopsis: The relative proportions of metal residing in ore in the lithosphere, in use in products providing services, and in waste deposits measure our progress from exclusive use of virgin ore toward full dependence on sustained use of recycled metal. In the U.S. at present, the copper contents of these three repositories are roughly equivalent, but metal in service continues to increase. Providing today’s developed-country level of services for copper worldwide (as well as for zinc and, perhaps, platinum) would appear to require conversion of essentially all of the ore in the lithosphere to stock-in-use plus near-complete recycling of the metals from that point forward.

(Pragmatic Editor note...could be titled more succinctly- "#$#@!! we are running out of copper!!!") 

2nd floor...gone.

External window trim harvested for a 1912 home in the Bayview neighborhood of Milwaukee.

Pulling hardwood floors on the second floor, now roof.

First floor, coming down.

We had to improvise some mosquito-repellent smoke with some clean rubbish.  Normally we wouldn't burn anything on site- but we had to be pragmatic.  Worst mosquitos any of us had ever seen.

Porch is removed.

View into the basement.  Note the 6x8 beams used as a sill-plate.  All in perfect condition, and all salvaged.  Beneath the beams we could easily crowbar the foundation apart.

Remaining materials staged for sorting and transport.  The two chimneys yielded several pallets of
"chicago pink" bricks, used on a home in the Bronzeville district of Milwaukee, and the hearth and mantle yeilded a couple pallets of lannon stone (dolomite), to be used as walkway edging.

View to the only wall left- the dividing wall to the attached garage- to be used as tractor storage by homeowner.

Piles of reclaimed windows and doors awaiting transport.

...and materials in need of sorting.

A few more images pending... please stand by.
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