Demo of '70s housing saves landfill space, clears way for future construction Published Aug. 30, 2010 By Senior Airman Ashley Tank 366th Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho -- A demolition service working with the Army Corps of Engineers is deconstructing more than 20 1970's era housing units on base. The $1.5 million project to tear down the Dunes Housing area has been ongoing since mid-June and is expected to be completed in December. According to Mary Dunn, base housing facilities chief, the houses are too closely condensed, no longer meet current living standards and have been vacant for more than a year and a half. Deconstruction is more labor-intensive than traditional demolition. The process separates reusable product such as wood, flooring and fixtures from the garbage. A successful deconstruction project can divert 80 to 90 percent of a structure's total weight from the landfill into reuse or recycling. "We are salvaging all of the scrap metal, wood and concrete and recycling it," said Mr. Rob Matthews, a demolition company associate. "The clean concrete is getting ground up and recycled. It's going to be used for future base construction projects." Now that the plaster, drywall and painted wood are gone, Mr. Matthews and his team will salvage usable material, such as the 2-by-4s and 2-by-12s used for the walls and support beams. The lumber originated in old-growth forests and is still in great demand. The houses themselves are not the only thing being reused from the deconstruction site. "The trees being cut down are getting recycled and donated to the City of Mountain Home to provide fire wood for the elderly," said Matthews. When the land is cleared, the area will be used for future housing privatization.