DECONSTRUCTION

When an existing house is slated for demolition, usually there is a good deal of material left in any house that could be salvaged for reuse or recycling but conventional practice is to demolish the house. A small amount of material might be recycled but the majority of the material ends up in a landfill.

A new and much greener option is available - deconstruction

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.

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. Advanced planning will help your project stay on schedule.

BUILD ON AN UNDEVELOPED PIECE OF LAND

If you plan on building a new home on an undeveloped piece of land, Paramount Construction is ready to help you make the most of the situation. In addition to minimizing environmental damage to the site, and maintaining as many of the original trees as possible - there's the added benefit of orienting your home to maximize natural daylight and take advantage of passive solar gain which will reduce energy bills.

Watch this video on how Paramount Construction uses green building to reduce your environmental impact.