SALVAGE, SUSTAINABiLitY,
and the CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Deconstructing portland
In July 2016, Portland City Council adopted an ordinance, including code language, which requires projects seeking a demolition permit of a house or duplex to fully deconstruct that structure if it was built in 1916 or earlier (the code was updated in January of 2020 to include houses built prior to 1940) or is a designated historic resource. Portland became the first city in the country to ensure that valuable materials from our demolished houses and duplexes are salvaged for reuse instead of crushed and landfilled.
The deconstruction of a typical 2,000 sq. foot wood frame home can yield 6,000 board feet of reusable lumber. That is the equivalent to 33 mature trees or the yearly output of 10 acres of planted pine. If demolished, that same home would produce about 10,000 cubic feet of debris instead.
When you use reclaimed lumber, you help curb deforestation by decreasing the demand for wood that is newly sourced. If salvaged responsibly, reclaimed wood is a renewable resource that reduces landfill waste as well as the harmful effects of natural resource extraction, transportation, and energy consumption for new building materials.
Reduces the need for more toxic landfills
Keeps material local, reducing additional adverse harvesting, mining and transportation effects.
Conserves finite, old-growth forest resources.
Creates jobs
our partners in the circular economy
Lovett Deconstruction is proud to partner with the Habitat for Humanity Portland Region ReStores to donate salvaged materials from deconstruction projects to the Habitat ReStores and keep usable items out of our local landfills.
The ReStores are home improvement stores and donation centers that sell new and gently used furniture, appliances, building materials, and more at discounted prices. Every purchase at a ReStore helps fund local Habitat for Humanity homebuilding and home repair programs. Habitat for Humanity Portland Region is the largest developer of affordable homes for sale in the Portland region, working with our community to build and repair more than 100 homes each year, from Gresham to Hillsboro. Additionally, the ReStores serve more than 44,000 customers and divert over 8,000 tons of reusable materials from our local landfills each year.
Through this partnership, quality materials carefully removed from Lovett's deconstruction jobs—including cabinetry, windows, doors, hardware, sinks and vanities, lighting, appliances, and select lumber—are donated to the ReStore, where they are resold to the public at discounted prices to be used in future projects. Lovett salvages up to 80% of a home's materials overall through deconstruction and recycling, and the donations are tax deductible for the homeowner. Every donation to the ReStore supports Habitat for Humanity’s mission, provides our community with access to quality materials, and diverts reusable materials from the landfill.
It's what the circular economy looks like in practice: materials from one home getting a second life in another, with less waste and more community benefit along the way.