Reusing Hardwoods - More Pics

Wanted to give you a few more pics of the work we've done during the hardwood floor excersize. Don't just tear it out and thorw it away - are you nuts?

Look how pretty it can look again, with a little care and a little....wait...... a lot of effort is put into it! :)

Jim and Darlene Belden are animals, working through this Oklahoma summer heat and saving these beautiful oak hardwood floors. Can't find nicer people with more integrity than the Belden's.

The Hole....... again

Ready for action.

We'll look to buy salvaged materials if we don't have enough of the original flooring to cover the new floor plan.

Decking Complete, Next Up -- the ROOF!

Special thanks goes out to Sean Stevens and Wade Davis at M&M Lumber, who are extremely knowledgable on a variety of sustainable product offerings (Tulsa: 918-627-1926), Perry Stephens at Cedar Creek Lumber (Oklahoma City: 1-800-375-6025) and the great people at Louisana-Pacific, who gave us a nice first-time buyer rebate on their Tech Shield radient barrier product for the decking, which is essentially an oriented strnd board (OSB) with a thin piece of aluminum lamentated to one side.

www.lpcorp.com/radiantbarrier/radiantbarrier.aspx

A radiant barrier is installed in buildings and homes to minimize radiant heat gain in summer, and to minimize radiant heat loss in winter.

Oh, and congradulations to Cedar Creek Lumber, who just became a FSC-certified wholesale lumber company: http://www.cedarcreek.com/index.cfm?id=5

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a non-profit organization devoted to encouraging the responsible management of the world’s forests. FSC sets high standards that ensure forestry is practiced in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial, and economically viable way. Using lumber from FSC-certified lumber yards also gives you credits for projects seeking LEED certification. We don't have any FSC-certified lumber yards in Tulsa, but keep asking for it. The market drives the progress. We CAN make a difference, just by asking companies for things we want.

Managing Asphalt Shingle Waste

Doing anything that falls outside the status-quo takes proactive over-communication and buy-in on the front-end of a business arrangment when securing your roofing contractors and waste management service providers. It also requires plenty of research if C&D waste managment options aren't readily available, as is the case in Tulsa. I bet I spent more than 15 hours on the phone and online investigating C&D waste recycling options for Tulsans trying to the do the right thing. Whew, brutal! Most people won't go the extra mile to do this...but now you don't have to!

In Tulsa, Harley Hollan (918-317-7777, ask for Dale) will drop a container off at your site and deliver to APAC (918-438-2020), where they offer a variety of C&D waste recycling, to include: concrete, wood, and asphalt shingles. APAC will take shingles with the nails in in and felt, but not with wood shingles/decking. Harley Hollan recommends you order a container strickly for the shingles so there isn't a bunch of mixed waste to rummage through, although they will go through and separate it if needed. Plan ahead and talk the project through with all contractors and service providers involved. The last thing you want to do is inform the roofer that you want them to recycle the shingles the day they come to do the tear-off -- it ain't gonna happen.

Most roofers are used to bringing their own trailers so they can pull them up close to the house. So if you do order a container, make sure you try to drop it off near the house so the roofers can pitch it right in. The easier you can make it for the roofer, the more likely they are to use this new procedure. You can also arrange for the roofer to take to APAC -- call ahead to confirm everything. You have to hand-hold everybody because this is all new to them.

Letter to Tulsa City Councilor

I wanted to share this letter we sent to our City Councilor for District 4 in Tulsa (no response, even after 3 follow-up phone calls/re-sent emails/left messages). Don't mean to throw anyone under the bus, but come on.

____________________

December 18, 2008

Jason “Eric” Gomez
TULSA CITY COUNCILOR DISTRICT 4
918-596-1924
dist4@tulsacouncil.org

Greetings Eric,

This is the first letter I’ve written to my City Councilor (I know, shame on me!), so let first me give you a brief background about me. I live in Jefferson Hills and I have recently acquired the house next door which has been uninhabited for almost 8 years. As part of the requirements for my Environmental Science graduate program at OSU Tulsa, I aim to conduct a major renovation in order to certify the home using the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Homes (LEED-H) program. I was happy to learn about your extensive background in the restoration, remodeling and construction industries, so the main point of this memo should hit close to home with you.

As you know, any construction project generates a lot of waste – whether it is new construction, a remodel or demolition (aka “deconstruction” to all you greenies out there). In fact, construction and demolition (C&D) waste accounts for an enormous amount of the waste stream in the United States – some estimates say up to 30%. While most of this waste accrues to landfills, the majority of the waste stream is potentially reusable or recyclable. As I began conducting pre-planning work on what C&D materials I could divert from the landfill, it became apparent that Tulsa was ill prepared to handle a variety of C&D waste materials. I spent a good deal of time calling around and surfing the net (including the M.e.t. website) but didn’t have much luck finding information or businesses/recycling facilities in the Tulsa area that for reclaiming/reusing C&D waste materials for the following items:

· Carpet (not the pad)
· Asphalt shingles [since this letter, I have found that APAC provides an asphalt shingle recycling service]
· Old framing wood/studs
· Attic insulation
· Plaster

Carpet and asphalt shingles are huge sources of waste and can be recycled in many cases. Concrete is actually the largest C&D waste component but since my home has a pier and beam foundation it wasn’t an issue for me. Material such as gypsum board can be ground up and used in many different ways such as in the making of Portland cement or as recycled content for new drywall.

Is there any legislation in the works to address this unique need? If not, can we create some to incentives for businesses and citizens? Cities and agencies throughout the United States have successfully employed numerous waste mitigation strategies for C&D waste. President-elect Obama has mentioned the new green economy in nearly ever major speech he has given recently. His economic stimulus package has sparked a need for the country to be ready for change and I can’t think of a more appropriate issue to be “shovel ready” than the C&D waste sector.

What will happen when companies looking to move to or expand in Tulsa learn that they will not be able to meet green standards? As someone who has been “in the business” as well as in city government, I’m sure you’ve thought more about some measures we can take to help establish a starting point. There are many best practices steps that local (and state) governments can take to encourage C&D debris recycling including - but not limited to - implementing policy, providing tax incentives, rebates, sales tax exemptions and low interest loans to recycling businesses. Contractor strategies, building code specifications, and a practice called "optimum value engineering" can also help to minimize the C&D waste stream.

Best regards,
Chad Burden, City of Tulsa Master Recycler

Diverting Waste From Landfills - C&D is Low Hanging Fruit

Data collected in 1998 by the EPA estimated 136 million tons of building-related Construction and Demolition (C&D) debris was generated in the United States. Thirty percent of all solid waste produced in the United States is C&D waste, excluding road and bridge debris. Wood and concrete are the most typical waste materials. Additionally, most C&D debris is nonhazardous and is not regulated by EPA. The most common management practice for C&D debris is landfilling, including C&D landfills, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) landfills and unpermitted sites. There is a trend toward recovering and reusing C&D debris. However, within the building industry there is a general lack of C&D waste recycling awareness. This fact, coupled with the problem of how C&D waste is defined and how it can be reused, is a barrier to widespread solutions for diverting C&D waste. Most construction, demolition and renovation companies are considered Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generators. Recent deconstruction projects have demonstrated environmental and economical benefits of diverting building materials away from traditional demolition waste streams.

Get ready Tulsa, the C&D waste diversion industry -- also known as "Deconstruction" -- is coming.

Salvaging the Oak Floors

Chris Ornelas is taking each board and grinding off the nails so we can get them ready to run through a planer.

Some of the sub-floor had some REALLY bad issues. I won't tell you what rotted out some of these spots....it'd make you sick.

The ever-peppy Lorrie Hoefling, our LEED AP, did a great job prepping each of the rooms so Jim could get right down to business when it came time to pull up all the flooring.

Half-way there! This will be the new super-sweet kitchen will go, designed and manufactured by Jay Rambo Company, a local gem with nationwide appeal. The open window on the left will be removed and replaced by a new southfacing door, which will open up the the back yard.

This was the kitchen floor that had some pretty bad water damage. The west side door will be rocked in to create some much needed wall space. Don't worry -- Solatubes will be pumping natural light in, one free photon after another.

In Yo Facia

Finally, forward progress on the roof! Up with the facia boards.

We're using cedar. Cedar possesses physical properties and characteristics unsurpassed by any other softwood species. It has exceptional dimensional stability with minimal tendency to shrink, swell, cup, twist, or warp under even the most extreme weather conditions. The durability of cedar is superior to other domestic softwoods. Its natural composition resists moisture, decay, insects and other natural elements that can quickly damage other softwood species. Cedar is exceptionally workable, with superior ability to be sawn, take nails, glue and other fasteners.

Neat link to a website advocating the use of cedar wood:

http://www.cedar-siding.org/about_us/media/press_releases/press_release0310_lovecedar.asp

They have everything on the Internet, don't they? Gee, thanks Al Gore!

Chad

DEMO COMPLETE! THANKS TTC!!!

Special thanks to Mike Covington, Linda Parker and the entire Tulsa Tech construction team who helped do all the heavy lifting throughout the demolition process.

You guys rocked it! Have a great summer.

Best wishes on your future goals and employment.

Chad

P.S.: For those interested, TulsaTech offers a wide range of construction curriculum including: Basic Safety, Construction Math, Hand Tools, Power Tools, Introduction to Blueprints, Basic Rigging and more. Contact Amanda Wiley for details: 918-796-1226.

http://www.tulsatech.edu/