Too Many Cooks

I was excited to receive word from The ReCONNstruction Center, a used building material outlet in New Britain, that we were close to landing our first deconstruction job in Connecticut, TRP’s newest region. Ted Reiff, president of the company, was coming to town the following week, and we already had a bid opportunity. Sweet!

I also learned that Joe DiRisi, a fellow deconstructionist from Urban Miners was also contacted by the building owner. Joe could not offer the tax advantage that TRP could, but nonetheless I felt the waters had been muddied by the addition of a second deconstruction contractor. People have a hard enough time wrapping their heads around the deconstruction concept and the factors that make it economically viable. Still, I thought, lets see what happens. The owner seemed very interested.

Urban Miners planned to salvage the hardwood flooring and doors, and TRP was supposed to deconstruct the rest of the house. Ted and I, along with Charlie Paonessa, my co-regional manager in Connecticut, worked on the bid together, hopeful that our first job would happen quickly and serve as a springboard in the new territory.

The possibility of salvaging the brick exterior did not look good. The mortar used to secure the bricks was post-WWII, with bonding agents so powerful that cleaning the bricks (removing the mortar) would be almost impossible. The necessity of recycling rather than salvaging and reusing the bricks significantly increased the dumpster portion of the bid. Still, deconstruction remained the owner’s first choice.

Then the “piecemealing” began. The owner wanted to sell some of the kitchen cabinets to a friend, the doors were going to another person, and the appliances to yet another. Finally the owner, after speaking with his accountant, decided that deconstruction and the tax deduction it earned were not going to work for him after all.

I spoke to Joe at Urban Miners the other day and asked how his part of the job was going. He had inventoried all the appliances prior to going away for a week and was expecting to remove them and the flooring when he returned. Joe didn't sound too surprised to report that by the time he got back all the appliances were gone. The doors that were supposed to be removed in his absence were still in place, further complicating the floor removal, but the appliances were not.

Most everyone is familiar with the frustration caused by subcontractor delays during the construction process. I guess frustration is part of the de-construction game as well. Stuff happens.

On to the next job!

TRP Regional Manager Michael Yurish is based in Wallingford, Connecticut.