Deconstruction

I used the Evanston Rebuilding Warehouse and Rebuilding Exchange to deconstruct our 110 year old garage and was very happy with the result. Formerly used as a woodshop and carport, the garage was starting to degrade and needed to be replaced. I contacted the Rebuilding Exchange to review the project. After helping with permitting and testing for asbestos and lead, they planned and managed the deconstruction over about a week. There were a lot of materials I assumed would be trash - in fact, we only half filled a dumpster. They salvaged most of the cedar siding, plywood roof, and fir framing. The crew was very professional and braced the garage and staged each phase to minimize disturbance and dust. They even added 40 feet of fence to the scope, managed a surprise gas line shutoff, and kept the site tidy to keep our neighbors happy. I was glad to see our garage and its old lumber reused for new projects rather than be destroyed in a dusty pile and destined for a landfill. I highly recommend this approach for projects looking to meet social and environmental goals.

I couldn't be more thrilled that my home's bits and pieces will be put to use throughout the city, instead of ending up in a landfill. The team at Rebuilding Exchange was so helpful and knowledgeable, helping all the way through the property appraisal process — and flexible too, as we managed through the pandemic's impacts on our collective schedules. Ecologically, socially, even financially, it's a no-brainer.

"When we learned our contractor planned to throw away our old cabinets and flooring, we were happy to learn that Rebuilding Exchange could salvage the materials for re-use. Their team was on time, professional, kind, and quick. They left the worksite clean at the end of every day. We recommend them to anyone embarking on a major renovation project."

We are beyond thrilled with the Rebuilding Exchange team. The whole deconstruction process was smooth and painless from start to finish. The crew was extremely professional and did a great job deconstructing our whole kitchen, 4 bathrooms and all of the interior doors. They did everything with care and with minimal damage to any existing structures. And anytime we popped over they were friendly and happy to show us what they had been working on. We were also very happy that so much of our renovation was going to a great cause. We would HIGHLY recommend working with them.