“We had the entire design agreed upon after 3 meetings,” notes designer Marco DiMaccio, “ mastermind behind this unusual project. He likes to work fast. “After three additional dinner meetings,” he says, “we had the details worked out.”
The previous house, a 3,200-sq. ft. 1950s home in “terrible shape,” would have cost as much to renovate as the price of the new structure, DiMaccio asserts. The new house is larger—yet more energy efficient. At 4,300 sq. ft., it’s platinum LEED certified, and in a size range that’s compatible with the local high-end market.
Much of the demolition material from the original house was reused in one way or another in the new. For example, the old mineral-based roofing was pulverized and used as aggregate for a parking area. The builder also refinished and reused much of the hardwood flooring from the original house.
“The remainder of materials were sorted for recycling on-site and delivered by Waste Management directly to their respective recycling centers,” say DiMaccio. “All told, we helped recycle 60 tons of wood, concrete, drywall and metal. Roughly another 60 tons of wood, brick, stone, windows, doors, cabinets and fixtures were donated to Habitat for Humanity. And it all added up to a 100% diversion rate.”
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