Benefit Calculator
Land Use
Consider your 2,000 square foot house.
If deconstructed and the wood reused, it could eliminate the need for the harvest of 33 trees.
Deconstruction could reduce the volume of waste needing landfill space by up to 8,420 cubic feet.
An excellent example of how deconstruction can reduce the demands made upon our natural resources
to provide raw materials for new construction is the recovery and reuse of lumber from deconstructed
buildings.
On a national level, the timber industry is the single largest user of our country's land. Timber production exceeds even agriculture in terms of sheer acreage. Reducing the consumption of new lumber reduces the amount of land needed by this industry to meet demand.
The deconstruction of a typical 2,000 square foot wood frame home can yield 6,000 board feet of reusable lumber. See what the impact on your home would be using our calculator in the blue box.
This is equivalent to 33 mature trees, or the yearly output of 10 acres of planted pine (7 football fields).
The volume of debris at the national level is difficult to fully grasp. At the scale of the individual house, it is easier to relate to. The average American home (2,000 square feet give or take), if demolished, would produce about 10,000 cubic feet of debris.
