The City of Wyoming has contracted with nonprofit re-use organization Building Value to "unbuild" a vacant house, salvaging 6,400 cubic feet of building materials that would otherwise go to a landfill.
The property at 641 Oak Ave. in Wyoming, Ohio, will be turned into "green space" in the city. The house is Building Value's second full-structure "unbuild," its first being a horse barn in Indian Hill. The building in Wyoming will be the first residential multi-story project for the organization.
About 10 to 15 people will work on the deconstruction of the house, which will take four to six days. All workers have been trained in deconstruction and received extensive safety training.
Jerry Janszen, Building Value's director, said that in addition to salvaging material for reuse and recycling, Buliding Value is able to "provide valuable training to people with significant workplace disadvantages, giving them experience that will help them land full-time employment."
Terrance Vanderman, Wyoming's Community Development director, said that the city's expansion of environmental stewardship efforts is a result of community input.
"The administration continuously explores potential opportunities to reduce our community's 'ecological footprint,'" Vanderman said. "The deconstruction of 541 Oak Ave. is a good example of this work. After reviewing the relative merits of deconstructing the house, it was obvious that the overall benefits outweighed the marginal cost differential."
Building Value has teamed up with a national deconstruction expert who will help safely maximize the salvageable material by using a mechanized deconstruction technique that allows crew members to work safely from the ground while parts of the building are dismantled. Volunteers from Easter Seals Work Resource Center job training programs will be available to help sort and remove nails from the lumber before it is taken to the Building Value retail location.
The retail location at 2901 Gilbert Ave. in Cincinnati already has interior items from the house, such as doors and cabinets, available for purchase.
