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Q&As
Demolition Advice
Hello,
I am going to demolish my 1950s bungalow. I wondered how I can get value from the property before the ‘wrecking ball’ comes. I will try to sell big ticket items like the conservatory on ebay/gumtree, but where else can we make some money? Is there value in 2nd hand scrap for radiators, pipes, cables etc?
Many thanks
Asked by Abif
One Answer
There used to be a time when the cost of the demolition works could be paid for by the salvage of the materials, but less so today. Sometimes you can be lucky and someone might be starting a project locally who could benefit from recycling some of your materials; when I built my house for example, I took the old pine floor boards from a building that was being demolished (as a bundle and not yet de-nailed) and recovered a few structural beams in the process as well. But the work involved in de-nailing the timber was a labour of love to end up with genuinely old floor boards. So, roof timbers are a bit of a lottery and you may get more if you do the de-nailing yourself. Waste metal always has a value (at the prevailing rate) but no-one will want to recycle a 1950’s radiator as a usable product unless it’s a particularly special specimen with retro credentials.
The most attractive products will be good quality clay or slate tiles (but not concrete), good quality stock or engineering bricks, terracotta tiles, solid wood internal doors, good quality fire surrounds, random metals for its scrap value, lead definitely, but probably not much more. Windows and doors can’t really be recycled any longer as extensions now require current energy efficiency standards. Best of luck.
Tim Doherty (Build It expert)