Swamplot Archives by Tag: Recycled Materials

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Wilshire Village Apartments Demo: Maybe Not Quite Yet

July 23, 2009 – 12:37 pm

Here’s a little video sent to Swamplot from this morning, showing what appeared to a reader to be the beginning of the end for the Wilshire Village apartments. But in a comment to that post, Lynn Edmundson from Historic Houston reports this demo work isn’t really all it’s been cracked up to be:

I just returned from the site…and it looks like they are just breaking up the surface concrete. The contractors on the site are installing plumbing/water lines…and are not with the demolition company.

New plumbing lines? What for?

Meanwhile, Historic Houston Salvage to the . . . rescue? Edmundson adds:

With the permission of the contractors on the site, someone with me was able to look into one of the apartments and there is beautiful oak flooring still inside the apartments waiting to be reclaimed!

Video: Swamplot inbox

12:37 pm | 4 Comments | Read more about Construction Materials, Demolitions, Neighborhoods: Lancaster Place, Utilities
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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Recycling Houston Building Parts

May 13, 2009 – 11:18 am
   

A new city-run Reuse Warehouse that’s been open for just 2 weeks at 9003 N. Main St. (just north of Crosstimbers) is designed to reduce the amount of excess building materials dumped into landfills. The warehouse accepts donations of extra building materials, and offers them for free to nonprofit organizations. What can you donate? “Cabinets, copper, doors, electrical fixtures and equipment, fans, flooring material, glass, gutters, hardware, lighting, lumber, metal, mirrors, pipe, plumbing, plywood, roofing material, screens, sheetrock, sinks, showers, trim, tubs, wall coverings, or windows” but no paint. “More than one-third of the waste stream in the Houston area is made up of construction and demolition material.” [Green Houston, via Hair Balls]

11:18 am | 2 Comments | Read more about Construction Materials, Green Design and Development, Neighborhoods: Independence Heights, Quicklink, Recycling
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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The Recycled Glass Driveway at the Cordell Shipping Container House

January 14, 2009 – 11:19 am

Next experiment at that Swamplot-Award-winning house built out of shipping containers on Cordell St. in Brookesmith? The unique driveway installed earlier this week. John Walker of Numen Development writes in with details:

It is composed of recycled crushed glass, with a resin binder, and achieves the consistency of caramel popcorn for lack of a better description, so it has voids that allow surface water to percolate through the paving and ultimately be absorbed into the underlying soil rather than running off into the storm drainage system. It is a triple threat: recycled material, reduces environmental impact of development, and it’s really cool!

Walker says Presto Geosystems, a division of Alcoa, installed the driveway as a pilot project for the Houston market.

This installation has been described by their consulting engineer as most likely the “first and last” residential project they will do in Houston as the product is expected to meet with huge commercial demand, especially for “landlocked” developments for whom expansion is limited by Harris County stormwater detention limitations.

Some views of the installation:

Continue Reading This Story >

11:19 am | 14 Comments | Read more about Construction Materials, Flooding, Green Design and Development, Neighborhoods: Brookesmith
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