In renovating our 1925 North Portland home, we decided to forego the demolition dumpster and go ultra-green, utilizing 90% recycled and reclaimed materials, many of them “harvested” on site. The result is a modern home that is both cutting-edge and commonsense.

It’s an ever-evolving house with a lot of history: The kitchen countertops were once bowling alley lanes, re-used mortgage signs sheath the walls, and the cabinetry in the bedroom closets were sawn from a cedar tree from the front yard. Recycled building materials were used in every inch of the home, from the framing to the fixtures, and came from a variety of sources—including the original structure, local re-building centers, reclaimed and re-sawn timber from a local door company warehouse loft, and “seconds” or post-production rejects from tile and siding manufacturers. The materials and process personalize the house. There is a story behind everything we found and incorporated into our home.

The program elements that most effected the design of our house are natural light, durability, energy and space efficiency, and community. The choice to utilize recycled materials does not pre- determine a “funky” aesthetic. Recycled, reclaimed, and re-used materials were a way for us to meet our goals within our budget, while at the same time limiting our impact on the environment. Our energy choices include photovoltaic, ground source heat pump, solar thermal water heat, high efficiency envelope and passive solar. We also installed an induction cooktop and heat pump dryer, but we like our ultra efficient linear clothes dyer as well.

The cost of recycled and reclaimed building materials is 50-80% less than those off the shelf. Re-use can add extra labor in the form of sourcing, delivering and preparation of materials, however these costs can be offset by “sweat-equity” on the part of the owner-builder and volunteer community labor.

Many of the materials were from The Re-Building Center. We are fortunate that Portland has one of the best networks of rebuilding resources in the world, but building with recycled material can happen anywhere. Resources like the Habitat for Humanity Re-Stores, Reclaim NW, Craigslist, and seconds from different types of manufacturers are available almost anywhere. We hope that our recycled remodel can provide a source of inspiration for others looking to do the same. More information and a reference list of contractors and material sources are available upon request. We would love to design a house like this for you, too!

Contact: Corey Omey; COmey@kaleidopnw.com 503 224-1282

Website: https://kaleidopnw.com/project/omey-residence/