Home Deconstruction, Lake City Way

Despite a bug-infested roof, a change order that required stabilizing the hillside, and a large snow storm, our first deconstruction project on Lake City Way was successful. 

In 2008, Second Use was awarded a 5-year contract with the City of Seattle to provide on-call deconstruction and salvage services for City properties.  Our first task was to completely remove a 1660 square foot home, built in 1947, to provide maintenance access to a salmon creek.

The home was nestled in among the trees and was difficult to access with even our pick-up truck.  Since we had decided to use machines to handle the biggest pieces of the home, including the foundation, we were forced to build a road to improve access to the site.  While this helped the trucks and machines roll to and from the project, it did little to support the ankles of the decon crew, who had to hand-carry large boards and tools away from the site. 

We had decided to work with Grayhawk Construction in order to utilize their expertise in demolition and abatement.  This let us focus more exclusively on reusable material extraction and processing.  The partnership worked well – each company was able to concentrate on the areas of the project that they could do best and pass on responsibilities when appropriate.  Most importantly, it allowed us to provide maximum value for the client – Seattle Public Utilities.

Using a combination of man and machine power, we were able to completely clear the property, including the concrete foundation.   In order to mitigate the impact of the deconstruction, we also regraded the site, laid jute matting, and seeded grass.  And in the end, we were able to:

• recycle 22 tons of concrete
• divert 5000 board feet of lumber and 1000 linear feet of cedar siding
• and save appliances, wood sashes, lights, doors, and cabinetry