Build for replacement. What does that mean to – sustainability.
Replacement and sustainability – sounds like an oxymoron but, are they? In the Reno business we work with the old and the new. From my perspective almost everything associated with a reno is sustainable. We save the existing structure and re-purposed it. With all the talk about Green products that go into renovations there is very little discussion about installation. How a product is installed is partly what makes it sustainable.
Example 1. The ABS drain under your kitchen sink. If it is assembled so it can be taken apart and reassembled then it does not go in the garbage – how many kitchen sinks are out there? Let’s take it a bit further.
Example 2. Access panels for plumbing and electrical in walls. In the real world we still put everything behind drywall. Plumbing leaks or electrical issues force us to tear into the wall and the drywall goes into the dump. Recently we completed a high end condo reno. Three days after we left, the shower in the suite above leaked and took out our brand new kitchen ceiling. The home owner lived with a hole and job site for another 3 weeks. In the end he called us back to improve the repair after we noticed the fix was a bit dodgy but, also the Eco floor took on moisture in a couple of areas which threatened its untimely end.
All discussions on sustainability should include a revisit of installation. I think the insurance industry would benefit tremendously from the use of access panels, bulkheads and any trick we can use to hide the systems we know will need replacement while still providing access. Water lines are the big ones but, not the only. We have 2 renos we are about to start that were initiated by insurance claims. In both cases the homeowners were displaced while the plumbing that was the culprit was yanked and repaired. Does it make any sense to install it exactly to ‘as built’. I don’t think so. Stay tuned for some photos on how I will remedy. Once we are done the insurance folks will get an invite because I think homes built with this in mind will be cheaper to insure.
