Company begins deconstruction of Youngstown

YOUNGSTOWN — A Youngstown company is taking down the first abandoned house in the city using the “deconstruction” method.

Instead of taking a wrecking ball and knocking down a dilapidated house, deconstruction removes portions of a structure — such as entire wooden floors, copper piping or chunks of bricks — that can be salvaged and then sold, said William D’Avignon, the city’s community development agency director.

The city hired US Green Building Materials, a Youngstown company, for $4,400 to deconstruct the 71-year-old long-vacant house at 945 Brentwood Ave. on the city’s South Side.

Using the deconstruction method is $2,000 more expensive for the city because of the additional time and care needed to take down the house compared to demolition, D’Avignon said. A typical demolition job takes one day. Deconstruction takes 3 to 7 days.

US Green Building Materials will keep the materials from the Brentwood Avenue house and sell them.

This project and a North Side house to be taken down next month are tests for the city to determine how much money contractors can make using this process, D’Avingon said.

If this proves to be financially successful for contractors, the city would pay the companies less money for future projects, he said.

This process will not be used that often because it “doesn’t make sense in most cases,” he said. That’s because most items of value in many of the houses that the city demolishes have already been stolen.

For the complete story, read Wednesday’s Vindicator or Vindy.com