Save on building a new home; recycle an old one.

Posted by Matt

I received a press release a few weeks back from a woman on my soccer team. It's about an unusual idea that could save a lot of money, although it sounds like it is primarily intended as an environmental project. She is going to "recycle" a HOUSE. She is calling it the "Reuse Everything eXperiment" or "REX" for short (the house is on Rex Street in SE Portland).

From the press release:

You see it all over town – old homes bought, removed from the land and new homes built in its place – it's progress, it's expected – but it comes at a cost – tremendous amounts of landfill waste. Shannon has bought an old home in Westmoreland on 21st and S.E. Rex Street and wants to build a new home. She, along with her contractor, is going to attempt to reuse 100% of the old home in her new construction project. It all begins on November 28th at 10:00am.

I'll have to check with Shannon when the project is done to find out if it is actually a money-saver, but regardless, it is a great example of thinking creatively about how NOT to add to our landfills. If you're interested in following the story, Shannon is chronicle it in the REX blog. Check it out!