Good Defenses Make Good Lumber

Traditionally, the Army, the Navy and the various other branches of the U.S. military paid contractors to demolish their useless, out-of-date buildings and to haul away the debris to landfills. Here and there around the country, however, savvy people in the defense establishment learned that the lumber used to build those old military structures is worth something.

Not only are the heavy timbers, girders, beams, and planking worth money -- especially to timber framers and cabinetmakers -- but the government also saves the cost of dumping the wreckage in landfills. Military bases and defense plants create tons of waste, much of it hazardous, so recycling any of that waste is good public relations for the Defense Department.

Scott Lantz, an engineer for the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant in Arden Hills, Minnesota, oversaw the dismantling of two huge outdated warehouses at the plant north of Minneapolis.

"During World War II, all Portland cement went to the front for the war effort, so the government built military construction all over the country out of old Douglas fir. About half of this installation is built of timbers," according to Lantz.

Lantz set aside everything 2x10 and larger for recycling. All of the big timbers are Douglas fir, the flooring is maple, and the roof decking is 2-in. hemlock. "Some is cleaned up and planed and used as beams. A lot of it is resawn, and they remaking really nice interior paneling or flooring or trim," Lantz said. "Some of the guys have brought back the stuff they're doing, and it's beautiful."

So far, the biggest problem has been establishing a grading system for the lumber so that it can be resold for structural use. Some building inspections might require an engineer's stamp before allowing it. Government researchers are working to establish grading standards for the recycled timbers. "This material is dry, and its done its cracking," according to Lantz. "Grading standards are for virgin materials, and they assume you're going to have more cracking and checking. But, it's amazing what decades of curing will do. If the wood has been protected, it cures really hard. And these buildings were well-maintained, so the wood is in really good shape.

"Recycling one building saved thousands of cubic yards of landfill space, and avoided tipping fees and potential long term liability. And it's a good, popular thing to do," Lantz said. Around the country, there are millions of board feet of old military construction that need to come down, according to Lantz.

"There are a lot of excess buildings hitting the market. We've typically done the old smash-and-bury demolition. But what do you do with solid waste? Well if it's timber you can recycle it. I think it will become more common in the military." Max Taubert is a Duluth, Minnesota, timber broker who purchased much of the wood that came out of the two warehouses. Taubert called me from Oakland, California, where he was inspecting other military buildings headed for demolition. According to Taubert, there are three key considerations in salvaging. "The first is the actual grade of the wood, and military wood tends to be a very good grade. Second are the dimensions and lengths. And third is the condition it comes out in. I buy wood from demolition contractors all over the country, and it's a mixed bag. Some is in very good condition, and some has been handled pretty roughly. The main thing a demolition contractor has to remember is that the way they handle it directly impacts the value of the material. Don't drop it."

Taubert's company owns sawmills in Duluth and in Edison, Washington, and both mills turn out custom sawing (Duluth Timber Co. 218-727-2145). Most of the wood he gets is Douglas fir, but he also gets significant amounts of longleaf pine and white pine.

"The price of all of it is going up. Anybody who is a real wood aficionado is becoming more and more aware of salvage resources," Taubert said . For instance, "a full semi-load straight from demolition is between $500 and $1,000 a thousand (bd.ft.). But if it's real high-quality straight-grain resawn, the price can be $5 to $10 a bd. ft."

The Army estimated that Building 501, the 377,000 sq.ft. warehouse that was dismantled at Twin Cities contained 1,250,000 bd. ft. of timber. Of that, about two-thirds was recyclable; only about 4% of the circa-1942 warehouse had to be landfilled; and the rest had use as boiler fuel. Dimensions of the recycled timbers ranged upward to 10 in. by 18 in.

Building 503 was 548,000 sq. ft. and was of similar construction. It was done after 501. "We learned a few things on 501, and 503 went a lot faster," Lantz said. "We had a higher percentage of recyclable timber, close to 80%." Dismantling the building reduced the volume of rubble that would go into the landfill by 3,850 cu.yd., for savings of about $46,000 in tipping fees. It cost about $50,000 to dismantle and to recycle the timber in the building. It would have cost about $300,000 to demolish and to dispose of the building.

In a dismantlement vs. demolition feasibility study, the Army also figured the downside to dismantling. For instance, the Army's study reports that it takes longer to dimantle an old building than it does to raze it; that the job is more labor-intensive and is potentially more hazardous to workers; and that the market for recycled timbers is in its infancy.

Copyright 1996 Fine Homebuilding Magazine. This work is used with the permission of the copyright owner for publication on the Smart Growth Network web site. Any copies of this work shall include this copyright notice.