Like many older cities, Milwaukee's housing stock is aging. During the past decade, the city emphasized renovation to rehabilitate its housing. As renovation costs have increased, the city turned to demolition as a more economical way of removing deteriorated housing. Demolition, however, does not address Milwaukee's immediate need for quality affordable housing, the increasing cost of materials for rehabilitation, and the increased demand on the city's landfill from contractors' dumping demolition debris. Now REEHouse, Inc., a small Milwaukee construction company, is turning the city's disadvantages into business opportunities. The company salvages building materials from condemned buildings before they become demolition debris and recycles the materials for use in construction.

The idea for REEHouse (which stands for Resource Energy Efficient House), came from a former city employee with an interest in housing renovation. "As a demolition inspector for the city of Milwaukee, I condemned a lot of houses that had broken windows and/or were missing plumbing fixtures and cabinets, but in general the homes were structurally sound. The hardwood floors and ceiling joists could be salvaged and reused," says Bert Simmons, President of REEHouse.

In 1996 Simmons decided to change how the city and the community viewed demolition by starting REE House. The small business uses deconstruction, a soft demolition technique in which buildings are dismantled by hand to maximize building material recovery. The recovered materials can then be used in new construction or renovation. Some deconstruction companies sell the materials to retail reuse centers for do-it-yourself renovation projects, but REEHouse is focusing its efforts on recycling materials for use in new construction.

Benefits of deconstruction. An estimated 300,000 buildings are demolished each year in the United States with much of the debris ending up in landfills, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. When maximized, deconstruction could reduce demolition waste by up to 75 percent, freeing up landfill space and recovering building materials that may no longer be available.

REEHouse salvages frame lumber, roof sheathing, rafters and joists, cabinets, stained glass and trim work, and copper downspouts and other metals. "Craftsman period houses, built in the 1920s, '30s, and '40s are excellent candidates for deconstruction," according to Welford Sanders, adjunct assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin and consultant to REEHouse. For example, there is a demand for the elaborate trim for use in rehabilitation of other Craftsman-style houses in the Milwaukee area.

Depending on a house's condition, REEHouse can recover up to 95 percent of the dimensional flooring and 98 percent of the ceiling joists. To date, the company has partially deconstructed 10 structures, including a warehouse and a large ranch-style home. Traditional demolition contractors also can realize a benefit from working with the company. REEHouse has partially deconstructed houses for one contractor, reducing the company's demolition debris and, in turn, its landfill tipping fee.

Convincing the community that deconstruction is a viable demolition tool has not been easy. To acquire the right to deconstruct houses condemned by the city, REEHouse must bid for bundled properties against bigger demolition companies. Also, not all houses are good candidates for deconstruction. Few, if any, materials can be recovered from houses damaged by fire or water. However, the city of Milwaukee recently passed a resolution that recognizes deconstruction as a legitimate means of taking down city-owned properties and directs the city to develop a policy for deconstruction. REEHouse, the city, and the Harambee Ombudsman Project, a nonprofit community development agency, are working together to find ways to improve the bid process and develop the new policy, which is expected to be in place later this year.

New house construction. Materials salvaged by REEHouse are being recycled to build an energy-efficient house in the Harambee neighborhood in northeast Milwaukee. A $148,608 demonstration grant from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is partially funding the construction of the 1,800-square-foot, 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom house to show how building materials from houses slated for demolition can be salvaged and reused in new residential construction.

Using salvaged and new materials, REEHouse prefabricated the house's first and second floor wall and truss systems indoors. Approximately half of the materials were recovered from deconstruction. The prefabricated systems, built in small sections, are held together by temporary fasteners. Once the systems are complete, the sections are loaded on to a flatbed truck, transferred to the construction site, and put into place on the prepoured foundation. The in-shop construction allows the company to continue working without regard to weather and speeds up onsite construction.

REEHouse's deconstruction and construction activities are having a positive impact on the community. Along with reusing materials and providing more housing options, REEHouse also is improving job opportunities for community youth. Youth from Fast Track, a job program sponsored by Harambee, and participants in the Wisconsin Conservation Corps are learning how to deconstruct and construct houses while working with REEHouse's regularly employed journeypersons. "Deconstruction is a great way to learn how to construct a house," says Sanders. "A person's skill level is also less of a challenge with deconstruction because the crew is often repeating the same tasks." The youth receive on-the-job training as they carefully demolish a house, recover building materials, and assist with construction. Harambee and the Wisconsin Conservation Corps provide supplemental classroom training to the participants.

The four-square house, which is nearing completion, will add to the revitalization of one of Milwaukee's central city neighborhoods. Recently appraised at $128,000, this house is just the beginning for REEHouse's efforts. With the success of the demonstration house, REEHouse plans to start recovering materials for its next construction project. Simmons also plans to continue to working with Harambee, which provides important support.

"I feel really good about what we have accomplished. We have given young people skills to make them employable and we are improving the neighborhood," comments Simmons.

For more information, contact: Bert Simmons, President, REEHouse, Inc., 3832 North Port Washington, Milwaukee, WI 53212, (414) 265-0616, or Welford Sanders, Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin, 2658 North Sherman Boulevard, Milwaukee, WI 53210, (414) 229-2992.

Or see: Report on the Feasibility of Deconstruction: An Investigation of Deconstruction Activity in Four Cities, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, January 2001. Available from HUD USER at www.huduser.gov/publications/pdf/deconstruct.pdf.