Whole house scrapping

I'm in the process of scrapping a whole house, the house was a apartment at one time so it has two of everything.
I got the water heaters out the copper tubing and wires, the furnace. Still have some black pipe and one furnace to
tear apart along with ductwork to take out. Getting back to the first furnace after I tore it all apart took the motor out
I was left with a heavy cast iron heat exchanger, what to do? Well I broke it down into three parts only held together by
small nuts and bolts, each piece still heavy but manageable with the use of a dolly. Anybody have any ideas about the
lumber? It has the clapboard siding, any ideas would be appreciated. I'm having fun while making some money!

Salvaging of old houses is becoming a new cottage industry. With the "green" movement towards sustainability and reuse of anything still working, you should look at places in your area that may buy stuff you tear out. Good lumber, especially hardwood flooring, staircases, trim, mantels, etc. seem to do well. You may also want to carefully remove light and plumbing fixtures for reuse/resale. A lot of stuff in older homes (pre 1970 or so) have a "vintage" appeal that is popular today. In your area you might want to look for people that use wood burning furnaces (a relatively new trend...they put them outside and run lines to their house)...sell them the scrap lumber. Indoor fireplaces are not good for pine, as you probably know. Windows, doors, etc....anything you think is still in good condition and can be removed fairly easily, might be worth some money. I would find an outlet for all these things first before I waste a lot of energy though.

Some of these guys will buy some material if you have what they want.
How
and for anybody else who searches this topic here is a nation wide directory
http://www.bmra.org/directory/pennsylvania
A lot of newer building materials could also be donated to habitat for humanity.

There's generally more to taking that stuff apart without tearing it up, than there was in putting it together in the first place. If I was in your place I'd be looking for folks who want it, and who come get it. They'd get more, you'd get more, and have to do less ; )

I read an article about this some years back. Apparently this guy would re purpose something like 60% of the material. Interesting considering most of the time they will just tear it down and take it to the landfill. I would think stained glass windows, old door knobs even ones that have been painted,

One time I was out in the counry and this house has a sign that says "free house you move"

Doors and windows are easy to move, last week the cheapest window in mernards was 37$. You can move them all day long at 10-30$. The only wood I take are any 2x4s or 2x6s I need for current projects. Like what was said above, by the time you pull something out, remove nails and staples you have a lot of time invested. I don't have the knowledge to tell what old floor or molding is worth my time. The exception to this is any timber or piece of wood that is wide/ long. I'm meaning 6x6 or 8x8 solid beams are used by craftsman or can be sold because they are lots of bucks new. Paneling or boards that are wide, where you can see the grain and can tell it came from a large wide tree. The old growth trees are disappearing so cabinetmakers and wood workers are always looking for that stuff. It's hard to explain but maybe someone else can explain it better.

do you have any Amish out where you live. bet theyd remove the lumber free in exchange for it

I once got about 300 linear feet of 1920's pine trim out of a house that the guy was going to raze. I also got the front door, as well as 6 vinyl windows I thought I was going to use on a project. He posted and ad on CL and I came a running, I uninstalled all of it myself- trim cost me $75 bucks, front door cost me $20. If I were to go to an architectural salvage place- the door would have run me $300-$400 and the trim easily at $600-$700. He was glad to see it "up-cycled" and not into a pile of splinters, as well as making a few dollars off of it.. And I personally trimmed out my entire office, many windows and doors in my home and used the front door as my office door. It was a true "win-win"

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Originally Posted by shendog

Salvaging of old houses is becoming a new cottage industry. With the "green" movement towards sustainability and reuse of anything still working, you should look at places in your area that may buy stuff you tear out. Good lumber, especially hardwood flooring, staircases, trim, mantels, etc. seem to do well. You may also want to carefully remove light and plumbing fixtures for reuse/resale. A lot of stuff in older homes (pre 1970 or so) have a "vintage" appeal that is popular today. In your area you might want to look for people that use wood burning furnaces (a relatively new trend...they put them outside and run lines to their house)...sell them the scrap lumber. Indoor fireplaces are not good for pine, as you probably know. Windows, doors, etc....anything you think is still in good condition and can be removed fairly easily, might be worth some money. I would find an outlet for all these things first before I waste a lot of energy though.

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As long as the scrap lumber isn't treated - it contains arsenic which is toxic.