Pragmatic Construction's DEconstruction services

Full, Partial or Select Salvage

"Every year 245,000 houses in the United States are
razed, producing 20 million tons of debris."
Metropolitan Home, March 2008

An alternative to demolition that can save money and the environment.

Deconstruction vs. Demolition

Demolishing a home means completely destroying it, using heavy machinery to knock down and then crush it, condensing the materials as much as possible for ease of transport to the landfill. Not only does this method clog the landfills and shorten their life, it can cost homeowners thousands of dollars in landfill fees while depriving consumers of a wealth of quality products and materials. 

Deconstructing a home means carefully dismantling it, using hand tools to take it apart board by board, beam by beam. All usable materials are then sorted and distributed for donation and reuse. As much as 85 percent of a structure can usually be diverted from the landfill.


Pragmatic Decon Team September, 2008

How It Works

As a Certified Deconstruction Contractor, Pragmatic Construction will:

  • Provide a free home deconstruction estimate

  • Complete the home deconstruction using our safe, certified program

  • Coordinate appraisals and donations of all salvaged materials

  • Provide documentation of the complete list of materials and appraised value as a tax-deductible donation

After proper planning and accurate estimating, a typical deconstruction process takes about three – four weeks to complete – from roof removal down to the excavation of the foundation – and everything in between.

Tax donations are available for every private building owner. These donations can often be substantial – large enough to pay for the costs of deconstruction. Please visit our nonprofit partner’s website for some examples of actual deconstruction jobs and the tax donation value received by the homeowners. The Reuse People

View a comprehensive PHOTO ESSAY of a Pragmatic Deconstruction project in Kenosha, WI


Deconstruction- The Real Numbers


Here are some sample values for some Pragmatic DeConstruction projects in Wisconsin.  
The tax-deduction value of the donated materials will often make deconstruction less costly than traditional demolition.

County Description of Home Deconstruction Cost Appraised Value of Donated Materials
(For Tax impact)
Walworth 1,300 s.f. cottage $18,000 $58,300
Washington 1,800 s.f. 1970’s ranch $23,600 $86,000
Kenosha 2,250 s.f. 1890 Farmhouse $26,200 $135,000
Washington 3,100 s.f. 1965 lake home $39,900 $168,200

For additional examples from around the country, visit our nonprofit partner’s website:http://www.thereusepeople.org/Deconstruction/


Who benefits?

  • All of us, through a cleaner environment

  • Homeowners, who receive tax deductions for donated houses/building materials

  • Builders and contractors, through better service to clients

  • Local governments, by increasing the life of existing landfills

  • Consumers/families who cannot afford to buy new



Our NonProfit Partner
-
The ReUse People of America

Pragmatic Construction partners with The ReUse People of America in order to enable tax deductible donations of salvaged home materials. The ReUse People (TRP) is a nonprofit 501(c)3 corporation that reduces the solid waste stream and changes the way the built environment is renewed by salvaging building materials and distributing them for reuse.


Deconstruction Resources

Writings

Recycling the Whole House”, New York Times, October 2007

Unbuilding - Salvaging the Architectural Treasures of Unwanted Houses” by Bob Falk and Brad Guy

Deconstruction Guide”- a Deconstruction Instutute handbook (PDF document)

Building Materials Reuse Association's (BMRA)

The BMRA is a non-profit educational organization whose mission is to facilitate building deconstruction and the reuse/recycling of recovered building materials.

The Tunnel House- 

An interesting deconstruction/art project link

The Deconstruction Institute

The Deconstruction Institute provides educational materials, tools and techniques, networking, case studies, articles, facts and many other downloadable and interactive modules about the environmental impacts of deconstructing 


Photoessays on some of the Pragmatic Deconstruction Projects

PORT WASHINGTON DECONSTRUCTION

KENOSHA DECONSTRUCTION

HARVARD DECONSTRUCTION

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 All Content Copyright 2006, Pragmatic Construction, LLC
An equal opportunity employer