Before you demolish... should you deconstruct?

Some residential buildings may be good candidates for full deconstruction (rather than demolition). Or before demolishing them, you could salvage materials with architectural value or reuse potential.

It's not always easy to pick the best deconstruction candidates. You may have many eligible structures and little time. You need to be able to scan property qualities quickly so that your building removal can recover as many materials as possible while working within funding constraints.

The Deconstruction Rapid Assessment Tool enables organizations to triage building stock slated for demolition; it assembles data that can help prioritize structures for deconstruction and salvage. The assessment process identifies candidates for deconstruction by examining information on the building’s condition and salvageable material inventory. It considers factors that may affect the value of the building, such as age, structural integrity, valuable materials and architectural features, environmental hazards, etc.

Whether the project scope is a few structures in a neighborhood, or an entire city’s blight program, a rapid assessment can help managers make critical decisions on allocating time and resources.

• Site observations & hazards
• Damage & deterioration
• Materials inventory
• Special consideration for architectural features
• Guidance for selecting the best response

Note: For best results, download the Tool and open it in Excel rather than using a web-enabled Excel Quickview.

•  Deconstruction Rapid Assessment Tool - Excel Spreadsheet(1 pg, 603 K, July 16, 2015, 905-F-15-001)

• Instructions for Deconstruction Rapid Assessment Tool (PDF)(14 pp, 2 MB, July 28, 2015, 905-F-15-001)
  instruction manual for Deconstruction Rapid Assessment Tool
• Form: Rapid Deconstruction Assessment for Structures (PDF)(2 pp, 303 K, June 4, 2015, 905-F-15-001)
  Form for Rapid Deconstruction Assessment for Structures