Using Recycled Materials to Save on Future Construction Costs

Today's Guest Article Is From Madoline Hatter

During Construction, there are often times when your project will have extra materials that may be discarded in the dumpster. A lot of times, these materials could be used in future developments depending on the job. Instead of discarding these materials, it could be more cost effective to hold on to some of these various items. While most of your refuse from a job may be just that, it could save you a bit of money to keep an open mind as to what is truly trash. What kinds of items could you reuse later?

1. Lumber - During construction that requires lumber, many contractors throw away pieces that could easily be incorporated in future workloads. Partial cuts, odd angles and even short blocks can be used for a variety of purposes. In the worst case scenario, these could be used in fireplaces during the winter. Depending on the season and your location, lumber can fluctuate in price. It may be practical to hold on to various lengths in order to support your next construction job.

2. Drywall - Portions of drywall left over from cuts and forms can be reused to patch holes or cover smaller areas that would otherwise be a waste to cut a full sized sheet. For instance: Instead of cutting a small six-inch square piece from a new sheet to patch a hole or provide cover for replacing a wall socket, a recycled piece of drywall from a previous project could work perfectly while saving the expense.

3. Roofing Shingles - After a roofing job is completed, keeping the excess roofing shingles could save you money on a future similar job. If fact, you could possibly resell a small amount of the leftovers to those interested in building dog houses or even horse shelters. As expensive as shingles can be, it doesn't make sense to simply discard leftover amounts.

4. Recycling Appliances - For jobs that require remodeling and tear out, the homeowner may not care what happens to the old appliances. Many recycling plants around the country will pay per weight of these appliances and could offset some of the smaller costs of the construction job. If the appliances are still in decent condition, you could donate them or even clean them up and sell them as used. With the exception of donations, you could bring in a bit of extra money instead of tossing them in the dumpster.

5. Glass - Although glass can be cheap considering the project, recycling large panes or chunks of broken sheets can help you in future developments. By using a glass cutter, you can reshape and size the glass fragments to fit a variety of tasks and could save you a bit of the cost from taxing your pocketbook. Of course it may not be possible to use pieces that are fragmented to the size of quarters, but sheets as small as one foot across can be used in skylights and other tasks.

The construction site is usually littered with items that can be reused for later purposes. While this may help reduce the amount of waste for the environment, the material could help absorb some of the minor costs of construction. The next time you are getting ready to throw refuse into the dumpster, take a few minutes and decide whether or not the piece can be practically used in a future project.

Author Byline:

This article is contributed by Madoline Hatter. Madoline is a freelance writer and blog junkie from ChangeOfAddressForm.com You can reach her at: m.hatter12@gmail.com