Bringing Down the House

The house next door to ours, and directly across our driveway, had sat vacant for the nearly 20 years we’ve owned our home, and for several years prior according to many in town. Last year we were finally able to purchase the property with the intent of tearing it down. It was beyond restoration. The floors had all rotted and fallen into the cellar, it was full of mold and rot, and the roof was severely compromised.

There was no question of whether we would have it torn down, but rather how we would tear it down. The simplest way would have been to hire a contractor and have the entire structure crushed by an excavator and hauled off in large dumpsters. However, we wanted to save as much as we could from entering the waste stream and repurpose what we or others could.

We started with the metal roof. A friend and I carefully took apart the roof, which he took to use as siding for an outbuilding on his property. Next were the windows — old-style wooden windows with aluminum storm windows and screens. We took all the sashes out, and along with the storm windows and screens, sat them out by the Free Pole — the telephone pole at the bottom of our driveway.

In all, 38 window sashes and as many storm windows were picked up by our neighbors and others passing through town. We met many of the folks picking up the windows and learned they were being used for sheds, chicken coops, and cold frames. Cool stuff! We then took all the old aluminum storm window frames off the house and set them aside for recycling. The iron window weights are being set aside for a friend who uses them to hold down tarps. I’ve heard of others who use them as anchors for small boats.

Feeling pretty good about how the windows worked out, we decided to take all the doors off — interior and exterior. These also went out to the Free Pole and were also picked up for a variety of projects. We met folks who were making hall benches and coat racks from some of them. 

We were on a roll! What next? We were able to get a few kitchen cabinets out (where the floor had not completely gone into the cellar), as well as a bathroom sink, vanity, and a nearly perfect set of pull-down attic stairs. All out to the Free Pole and onto a second life.

As the house was now little more than a shell, we were ready to call in the excavator when we decided that maybe the one bit of wood flooring that was not rotted could be salvaged. So after a few more hours of work, the wood floor was ready for someone to reimagine it in a new light. As it turned out, our local librarian had just the project for it.

It took a lot of work. Especially with the summer heat, the mold and mouse droppings, and maneuvering through and around the unsafe structure.

We may have saved a few dollars of the demolition cost by taking these steps, and we certainly reduced the amount going to the landfill, but what we did not expect was to find community through the process. We met people and learned how they were going to use the odd bits and pieces of the house and had some wonderful conversations. Many folks would stop by as we were disassembling the house to thank us for getting rid of the eye sore, ask if we were remodeling, or simply to say, “I remember when so-and-so used to live there.”

We never thought that bringing down the house would bring us so much joy.

—Marc Edwards, NRCM member, Strong, Maine