Old Seattle-area homes should be demolished with care, county says

King County is training formerly incarcerated people in a new skill.

They’re learning the art of “deconstruction.”

That means taking apart a building piece by piece, so the parts can be used in new buildings.

Old wood, in old homes, comes from old-growth forests.

So it’s stronger, of higher quality, and some would say, more beautiful, than modern wood.

“Deconstruction” preserves that old wood when homes are torn down, rather than throwing it into a landfill. The recycled wood can then be turned into new homes.

It’s more labor intensive than “demolition,” where old buildings get crushed into splinters that aren’t reusable.

Ben Peason of Sledge, which processes and sells deconstructed wood materials, says the industry suffers from "a bit of a chicken and egg problem. Do you build the demand first or train the workers first?"

King County Solid Waste is supervising the deconstruction training program.

Kinley Deller is the county's Construction and Demolition Materials Diversion Coordinator.

“We're really trying to get people so they're knowledgeable in the deconstruction field so that they can work in that when those jobs are available, which hopefully will be happening very soon.”

Deller said there are numerous benefits from training formerly incarcerated workers for the job. They come from many different neighborhoods. And as they train up, some may be able to use their new skill to start a deconstruction business of their own, expanding the industry's footprint.

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Deller says demand for trained workers will probably grow, as cities like Kenmore make deconstruction a legal requirement.

“So it basically states if a building is going to be taken down , if a residential structure is going to be taken down, and it's more than 70 years old, or older, it has to be deconstructed,” Deller says.

Shoreline, Redmond, and three or four other cities have discussed the idea with the county, Deller says. King County is also looking into requiring it in unincorporated areas, he adds.

Seattle started offering $4,000 incentives last year when homeowners choose deconstruction over demolition.