cabinets, fixtures, and appliances. Their process can be broken into three parts – inspection and planning, deconstruction, and de-nailing and processing. In part one, inspection and planning, the company first visits each site to inspect the building and determine how it was built. They provide a free estimate and what they call a “salvage audit” in order to determine the value of each building’s materials. In part two, Unbuilders’ skilled crew of carpenters deconstruct buildings layer by layer. They do a combination of hand deconstruction and machineassisted deconstruction, with most of the work being done by hand. Through on-site material separation they are able to maximize the salvage potential and minimize the waste. Finally, in part three, the Unbuilders team delivers the salvaged goods to Habitat for Humanity and the reclaimed wood to Heritage Lumber. Heritage Lumber then dismantles building components, de-nails the lumber, and processes it for remanufacturing. This process represents a “paradigm shift” from demolition to deconstruction, Adam says. “Demolition companies are hired to remove buildings as fast and cheap as possible – the result of which is a mound of waste,” he explains. “Us, on the other hand, we’re approaching a building with the goal of salvaging as much as possible and minimizing the waste, while still doing it as fast and cheap as possible. So it’s a shift in mentality and method.” “We’re looking at old buildings THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
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