Neon Building

Almost done. The ground is too soft to dump. The dump trucks keep getting stuck. Had to have large tow trucks pull them out. As soon as the ground freezes we will haul away the final 4 or 5 loads.

One brick at a time:
Almost ready to bring in the heavy equipment to haul away the debris. Most of the repurpose and salvage materials have been harvested and waiting to be picked up by vendors. Approximately 65% of the building was repurposed or recycled and only 35% went to the landfill. Most of the wood was sold, all of the trim was sold, most all of the bricks were sold, all of the metal was recycled including the copper and lead pipes, all of the windows were sold, all of the window weights were sold, originally it was gonna cost $50,000 to tear down the back half of the building and all of the materials would have went to the landfill. Deconstructing the building by hand and repurposing 65% yielded $42,000. after paying dump fees and contractor to remove the 35%. Yes it was longer and more labor intensive to deconstruct. But that is a short sited solution to simply tear the building down and haul it away to the dump. All activities involved in that process harms our environment. From the fuel for the tractors and trucks to adding to the landfill crisis. To to mention the new trees and bricks cost of production that the repurposed materials saved. Then finally the net gain of $50,000 savings and the $42,000 income nets a $92,000 swing in revenue. I am not suggesting that deconstructing is practical on every development project. However I am suggesting there are more opportunities to use this model that what is currently being used. Deconstructing is more common in the residential scene but the drivers more focused towards just grabbing a few items like flooring and stained glass windows etc. If you want to learn more about my deconstructing philosophy or to see if your project would benefit from the process then certainly contact me. I would be happy to share information or deconstruct your next project. Thank you greatly, Kelly Petersen Sr.

Demo is almost complete. About 30% left to demo. The rain slowed us down but now we are making up time.

Welcome

Another find during our demo of the Julian Hotel. This is the fire alarm bell. Still working. Its VERY loud.

I found the plinth block trim was hand carved. This would have been a big deal. I thought they were all smooth but there was just so many coats of paint that they looked smooth. Back in 1890 this type of work was all hand carved. Notice how the pedal ends fold over the pedal.

Another treasure found during the deconstruction project at the old Julian hotel

We uncovered the original facade today. These are Chicago Commons face bricks and very desirable for restoration projects.

About 1/3 of the outside walls are down.

All the interior walls of the 2nd floor are down. Now we started on the exterior walls of the 2nd floor. Hope to have the 2nd floor completely down in 2 weeks.

Thank goodness the weather is breaking now we can get back on top of our project. We want to get this thing moving towards the finish line.

Reclaimed tongue and groove wood for sale. Use for crafts or wall siding or building furniture. Fifty cents per linear foot several different sizes. Also rough sawn lumber for sale two-by-fours 2 x 6, 2 x 8, 2 x 12.