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News
Ranch resident donates pieces of home to charity
Photograph by
Molly Nance
Jose Lopez and Cheryl Sharp work side by
side to get reusable material from houses, which will make new homes for low
income families around the globe.
November
24, 2006
By
Molly Nance
Staff
Writer
RANCHO SANTA FE - Reduce, reuse, recycle. Those are words typically connected with water usage,
plastic bottles and paper, not an entire house. But one group in North County thinks
otherwise.
The ReUse People of California, a nonprofit corporation, devotes its energy to
the deconstruction of homes, a method of tearing down a house, minus the
bulldozer, crane and sledgehammer.
”We gut the house, piece by piece,” said Jose Lopez, one of two
contractors who work with the ReUse People. Lopez explained that every piece of
the house, including the cabinets, sinks, doors, roof and walls, are taken down
and reused by Habitat for Humanity, an organization that builds homes across
the globe for low-income families.
Lopez and Cheryl Sharp, the San Diego area manager of ReUse People, just
started the deconstruction process on a home in Rancho Santa Fe.
The ReUse People originated in Northern California, and Sharp said she wants
more people in Southern California to learn about the option of deconstruction
verses demolition.
“The material that is just thrown out ends up in already overburdened
landfills. People down here are just starting to become more
green friendly,” she said.
The owner of the house, Sophia Alsakek, moved down from Marin County almost two
years ago and said she was eager to work with Lopez and Sharp.
“It just makes a lot of sense to do this. So much of what is in our house
that we think isn’t great, is actually such a good find for others,”
Alsakek said.
Not only will Alsakek be rewarded with a sense of satisfaction that she is
helping other people out, she will receive a significant tax cut from hiring
Lopez and ReUse People.
“It does cost almost twice as much to do a reconstruction, but by the
time tax season comes around, we hope it will be a wash,” she said. “It
would be nice if other people in the Ranch started doing this, too.”
Because deconstruction of a home is handled with more care, it takes twice as
long for the process to be completed, but Lopez said he and his crew don’t
mind.
“Instead of my men being on a job for one week, they work for three
weeks,” he said.
Sharp confirmed that people who participate in the ReUse program would receive
significant tax breaks, and possibly save money in the long run.
To get started on the reconstruction, each person gets an appraisal, which
determines the value of the materials in the house. Aside from the appraisal,
homeowners are only required to accept bids from contractors who work with
ReUse. They would still obtain the same demolition permits as if they were
undergoing a traditional teardown.
“Basically, when we are done, the dirt is the only thing left,”
Lopez said. All the materials are shrink-wrapped, inventoried and sent to the
warehouse in Los Angeles for Habitat for Humanity to buy at a reduced,
wholesale price.
For more information on the ReUse People of California, visit
www.thereusepeople.org.
Contact
Staff Writer Molly Nance via e-mail at mnance@coastnewsgroup.com.
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