Deconstruction stories
Sibley Hall Material Pick-Up
Every great renovation leaves something behind, but that doesn't mean it has to go to waste!
Last month, Finger Lakes ReUse partnered with Historic Ithaca to rescue a beautiful collection of maple flooring and historic oak railings from the Sibley Hall renovation at Cornell University.
As Sibley Hall turns over a new leaf with a stunning new circular auditorium beneath the dome, light-filled studios, collaborative workspaces, and a new home for the Mui Ho Center for Cities and the Department of Design Tech, we had the opportunity to make sure some of its original materials could start their next chapter, too.
Just because these materials no longer fit the project's blueprint doesn't mean they were at the end of the line. Around here, we believe every board deserves another chance to make the cut.
More than 500 square feet of maple flooring, every oak stair tread, all three curved railing sections, and three of the straight railings have already been reclaimed by the community. Soon they'll be welcoming guests in renovated carriage houses, adding character to new bars in Ithaca, and becoming part of homes with stories still waiting to be written.
That's the beauty of building reuse: today's renovation can become tomorrow's restoration.
The rest of the materials are still being cleaned, denailed, and prepared for their next life through our weekly volunteer denailing nights and by participants in ReSET, Finger Lakes ReUse's workforce development program. Every nail pulled is another step toward keeping quality materials in circulation and out of the landfill.
Who knows? Your next project might just have a little piece of Sibley Hall built into it.
Pre-Nailed Bundles of Maple Flooring. (Photo by Andrew B.)
Oak Railings being removed. Left: Marc, Center: Alphonse, & Right: Christine. (Photo by Andrew B.)
DeNailing Volunteers Left: Kat and Right: Grant, on a Thursday DeNailing Event. (Photo by Andrew B.)
ReUse in Numbers
With 1 volunteer, 3 employees, and a partnership with Historic Ithaca, we recovered 2.06 tons of material. This is equivalent to the carbon sequestered by .26 acres of forests in one year.
Most of the material has already returned to the community, but you can review additional material on our website, and find locally used building materials every day at our ReUse Centers!
Stair Treads
15 oak stair treads have been recovered and have found use as raw slabs for counter tops.
Flooring
1,500sqft of maple flooring was recovered and being processed.
Railings and Carpentry
This project’s railings were salvaged and brought to our Centers for sale.
ReUse in Action
Potting Work Table (Photo by Troy)
Troy, a local fabricator and maker, shared a potting table he constructed out of reclaimed pine we salvaged from a log cabin last November. This potting table refashioned round stock from railings and knotty pine wallboard into a new, striking working surface, framed with mitered cut baseboards.