Four Brothers is a proud member of the U.S. Green Building Council (https://www.usgbc.org/),and we emphasize sustainable green building practices during all ourremodeling projects.  A component in green building involves salvagingreusable and/or recyclable materials before actual demolition begins,and practicing “deconstruction” whenever possible.  (Think ofdeconstruction as “reverse construction”, where structures aredismantled carefully, with the goal of reusing materials later in theproject.  For instance, at 753, old framing lumber will be de-nailed,and used in new framing or to build furniture.)

Webegan the salvaging process by removing the working kitchen appliances,interior doors, and windows; all of which were either saved for reuse,or donated to Goodwill Industries.  Next, we removed all the interiortrim, including baseboard, door casing, and moldings, which will bestripped, refinished and reinstalled near the end of the project.  Thiswill allow us to preserve original trim profiles (which otherwise couldonly be replicated by a custom millworker at a considerable expense)and reduce materials cost and waste.

The 22old cast iron radiators scattered throughout the house and threefireplaces posed more of a problem.  Hence, we called The Brass Knob; acompany that specializes in architectural antiques and salvage forrestorations and renovations, as well as new construction. Theirknowledgeable technicians removed the radiators (which will berefinished and reused), and harvested the original slate off thefireplace mantels; also for future reuse.  To learn more about theBrass Knob, visit:https://www.thebrassknob.com/index.html.

Ofcourse there are many other aspects involved in sustainable and greenremodeling.  We intend to discuss many of these in depth as the projectprogresses, and in the interim, feel free to visit our Growing Greenpage.

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  Radiators Salvaged for Reuse

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  Rosettes and Plinths Removed for Refurbishing & Reuse

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  Original Door Trim Removed for Refurbishing & Reuse

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  Original Doors Saved for Refurbishing & Reuse

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  Slate Salvaged for Reuse

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  Original Slate Fireplace Mantel