free lumber

[Tater]

I've been scanning the freecycle and carigslist free areas and have found a lot of "free, must be moved" buildings. aside from a lot of labor is there a downside to recycling these building materials?

[dpb]

You mean other than the liability for whatever is there that has to be cleaned up, etc.?

I'd be very wary of anything very old owing to asbestos police, etc.

I've seen some that have site remediation clauses as well, not simply move a building and there are generally time constraints and other conditions as well.

In a metro area I don't think I'd touch one as an individual.

[Lp1331 1p1331]

Dunno what downside there could be, if you have the time and a use for the lumber, and a way to safely transport it. If you are not going to use the lumber immediately, you need to have a place to store it out of the weather and flat so it does not warp and bow out of shape. (Happened to a friend-- he tore down a house for the lumber and by the time he got ready to use it, a lot of it was no good). Also, most of those "tear down for the lumber" deals specify that you take all or none, and often have a set time frame that it must be completed within. FWIW, I know a guy who built a pretty good sized 2 story house almost entirely out of materials he scavenged over about a five+ year period. Among other things, he got about 2000 sf of maple flooring about an inch thick or more from a gymnasium that was being torn down. I've seen the outside of the house and it is beautiful. People who have seen the inside tell me it is absolutely incredible. Go for it if you want, but start with something small first. Good luck Larry

[Harry K]

Labor is one biggee. Another is tools. You will need some serious wrecking bars, hammers and sledge hammers.

Waste disposal will be a major problem. I have 'recycled' 2 houses and a school house (all owned by me). My experience says you will have about 1 pound of trash for every pound of good stuff you save.

Tear downs are _dangerous_. Invesst in, at a minimum, a hard hat and a pair of steel toe/steel plate boots. You WILL step on a nail no matter how careful you are.

Time: Figure lots of time to complete.

?Moveing it?: Forget about that unless you have deep pockets. Moving companies like to be paid and paid big to move one and you aren't going to be allowed to do it yourself.

Harry K