This story is part of the Comox Valley Record’s fall edition of Trio Magazine, published quarterly and available throughout the Comox Valley.
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Mike Chouinard
Special to the Record
Deconstruction can refer to the 20th-century philosophy movement looking at how text and meaning can offer a new way of thinking.
Of late, the term also describes a new way of thinking about re-using old buildings. Think of it this way: Deconstruction, in the housing context, is “unbuilding.”
This is the word George Slomp uses for what he and partner Peter Bain do through their Comox Valley business, Perspective Design Build.
On a spring day, in a fenced-off yard just outside downtown Courtenay, sit piles of lumber, trim and fixtures that until recently made up an old house. A brick chimney, standing alone in the centre of the yard, still needs to be disassembled.
“We do segregate all our garbage. That’s the biggest advantage of unbuilding a house,” Slomp says.
The company removes the parts of the house to reuse as much as possible and reduce trips to the landfill. An obvious perk is the wood, which can be re-milled into trim for a new house.
“The lumber is old-growth,” Slomp says. “It’s such high-quality wood.”
Painted wood or asphalt shingles will end up at the dump. Perspective has found a home though for vinyl siding at a farm in Black Creek. The bricks will go to build a backyard barbecue. Window frames will gain new life as picture frames or perhaps sheds. Some wood will be downcycled into fences.
Slomp, Bain and their team will then set out to rebuild. The two are both designers and builders. They worked for others in the construction business but pooled their talents to start Perspective just over five years ago. Of late, they are doing more unbuilding as part of their aim for net-zero homes when it comes to the environmental footprint.
The house in Courtenay is a first for them. Until now, they’ve done custom unbuilds for other clients, but they decided to buy this property, then rebuild it to sell on spec.
In fiscal terms, the process comes with a cost. At the time of the interview, garbage expenses were just over $1,400, much less than usual. Despite these lower landfill costs, with labour and other costs, the new spec home expenses were running about $12,500 – a few times more than a conventional demolition job.
“By unbuilding a house, I’m $7,000 to $10,000 in the red compared to just throwing it in the garbage with an excavator,” he says.
This process adds time too. For the latest house, they have been holding off building permits until everything is in order.
There is a market though. With more people interested in doing things in more sustainable ways, Perspective has its share of customers.
“It’s a long game for us,” Slomp says. “We already attract clients who have an environmental focus.”
Deconstruction is gaining a foothold. In June 2021, members of the Comox Strathcona Waste Management board held a round table discussion on landfill space and construction waste. There were representatives from people involved in unbuilding homes, such as Vancouver’s Unbuilders, or businesses that sell reusable building materials like Demxx in Coombs. More recently, CSWM board member Doug Hillian noted the case of Slomp, who’s his neighbour, as an example of someone working to effect change in the housing business.
The hope now is that governments start making it more costly to be wasteful while providing incentives for builders to look for better methods – with Perspective helping to lead the way.
“A large part of it is doing the right thing,” Slomp says. “I really like to figure out pathways for us to be successful.”
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