Demolition Time

There's an unnecessary wall forming a broom closet in the loft entry area that we want to remove. It is dark, cramped and takes up space so it has to go. It's constructed of light gauge steel framing covered with drywall on one side.


As an architect, I am always focusing on building things. But it's a nice change of pace to reverse the process. When I first became involved in construction 25 years ago I always looked forward to tearing things down, but the process of smashing things was not only messy and dangerous, it created a huge amount of waste that had to go to the landfill. I soon learned how to dismantle instead of destroy. I still was able to bring walls down, but by utilizing a "sane" approach of systematically dismantling construction assemblies, I not only did the same amount of work in the same amount of time (due to less clean-up), I was able to harvest materials that could be re-purposed for other projects. I plan on building new walls in the loft and, since we want to save as much money as possible, the unused closet should yield a fair amount of reusable material.


The drywall is connected to the framing with self-tapping screws. It is nearly impossible to locate the screws on the finished surface to back them out with a screwdriver, so I will use a different technique. By cutting the drywall with a utility knife along one end of the wall and and knocking out a small hole for a hand-hold with a hammer, I am able to pull the drywall away from the studs. The screws stay attached to the studs, leaving small holes on the back of the drywall. This does disfigure the back of the panel, but leaves the face relatively unblemished. 

   

Once the drywall is removed, the "zippies," - small self-tapping screws that hold the metal frame together - are backed out with a screw gun. After the whole assembly is dismantled, I unscrew the drywall screws from the studs.


From start to finish, it took 4 hours to remove the wall, strip the materials into component parts, and clean up. In the end, I have about 4 sheets of gypsum board, 16: 10' steel studs and tracks, and about a pound and a half of drywall and zippy screws I can reuse to build a new wall somewhere else in the loft. I also harvested 5 junction boxes, 20 feet of flexible metal conduit, assorted light switches, wire, electrical outlets and a PA speaker with a spider living inside. The waste was minimal. 

The estimated value of comparable new materials - $200. And I don't have to make a trip to the hardware store when I build a wall later.