# Construction waste.



## TBM (Oct 13, 2016)

Has everyone stopped and considered how much waste there is in the construction process. Starting from the first post it note to the last payment received letter. There's a butt load of waste. Where does everything end up? The dumpster. The landfill, the manmade mountain. What should we be doing if anything to remedy this? What can we do to minimize waste? Is this just me?


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## Jay hole (Nov 12, 2013)

I used to think the same thing...in theory with the 10% waste factor on a million dollar house 100k goes in the garbage. 
Also when I buy garbage bags, I'm paying money for something that has the sole purpose of going to the landfill. 
I also heard a statistic that said something ridiculous like 80% of what you buy ends up in the garbage!!!! 

So what do I do about this??? Absolutely nothing.


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## greg24k (May 19, 2007)

Nothing you can do about it... no matter how you look at it and no matter what you do, you will always end up with a pile of s^*t.

Garbage and recycling is a billion dollar industry and is here to stay and I'm glad about it, because otherwise we would be buried under it.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Yes I've considered it.

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## TBM (Oct 13, 2016)

greg24k said:


> Nothing you can do about it... no matter how you look at it and no matter what you do, you will always end up with a pile of s^*t.
> 
> Garbage and recycling is a billion dollar industry and is here to stay and I'm glad about it, because otherwise we would be buried under it.


By saying that there's Nothing we can do about it, I take that as we "cant" do any? I hate the word cant. Cause that means wont. I disagree about the whole nothing we can do. Lots can be done just with more management. 

I've started trying to eliminate waste. How? Starts with take off. Say for insist that you are framing you count and you have 4 ext doors 10 int. doors. I would simply order 4-2x6x14 for ext and 10-2x4x14 for the int. By doing just that simple thing there is a foot of waste right there that has been eliminated for each door way. That's just one example.


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## TBM (Oct 13, 2016)

Jay hole said:


> I used to think the same thing...in theory with the 10% waste factor on a million dollar house 100k goes in the garbage.
> Also when I buy garbage bags, I'm paying money for something that has the sole purpose of going to the landfill.
> I also heard a statistic that said something ridiculous like 80% of what you buy ends up in the garbage!!!!
> 
> So what do I do about this??? Absolutely nothing.


I have heard that statistic also. I find it alarming. Here where I live the county years ago implemented a required recycling program. I have recently learn that 80% of what is recycled is then thrown back into the landfill. Do to different things like the milk jug wasn't cleaned out or that they used to have somebody buying there cardboard and now they don't have someone to buy it now. I think its stupid to have a problem, have a solution and that solution doesn't even work.


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## Golden view (Feb 16, 2012)

I'm curious how much waste modular homes have. I've often wondered if we could just do a room take off for drywall, and order it precut for most of the long rooms. Maybe the suppliers could order long lengths, like 40 or 60 and cut from that. I had one supplier that only got 60' ijoists and lvls by train. By the time they sold blocking lengths, they never had any waste.


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## TBM (Oct 13, 2016)

When I was a kid, behind my fathers cabinet shop way a prefabricated wall and truss manufacturing business. They didn't throw anything away literally. They keep and use anything 11" or longer 2x4 wise and 14.5" or longer 2x6 wise. Everything else was used to heat the shop in the winter. But even then there pile to burn at years end wasn't as big as you'd think. And most pieces were under 6".


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## greg24k (May 19, 2007)

TBM said:


> By saying that there's Nothing we can do about it, I take that as we "cant" do any? I hate the word cant. Cause that means wont. I disagree about the whole nothing we can do. Lots can be done just with more management.
> 
> I've started trying to eliminate waste. How? Starts with take off. Say for insist that you are framing you count and you have 4 ext doors 10 int. doors. I would simply order 4-2x6x14 for ext and 10-2x4x14 for the int. By doing just that simple thing there is a foot of waste right there that has been eliminated for each door way. That's just one example.


The examples you give this is not a good example... Framing a few door openings you can get that right on the money, or if you trimming out a room you order 4 pieces of trim and you add a bit for waste. This is not waste, this manageable construction debris which can be dumped into any garbage pail. 

Real construction waste comes from additions, home construction, compelte renovations, demolition, framing, sheetrock, roofing, etc on larger scale in comparison to trimming out 4 doors. When you doing projects like this you can like or don't like the word "can't"... but by the end of the day you will end up with a dumpster or two with a sh^*t load of crap.

But there is one way to handle that, go in the middle of the night and set full container with lumber on fire, and hopefully in the morning you will end up with a half of dumpster and you can put the rest of the crap in there just make sure you don't burn down the neighborhood :laughing:


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## TBM (Oct 13, 2016)

greg24k said:


> The examples you give this is not a good example... Framing a few door openings you can get that right on the money, or if you trimming out a room you order 4 pieces of trim and you add a bit for waste. This is not waste, this manageable construction debris which can be dumped into any garbage pail.
> 
> Real construction waste comes from additions, home construction, compelte renovations, demolition, framing, sheetrock, roofing, etc on larger scale in comparison to trimming out 4 doors. When you doing projects like this you can like or don't like the word "can't"... but by the end of the day you will end up with a dumpster or two with a sh^*t load of crap.
> 
> But there is one way to handle that, go in the middle of the night and set full container with lumber on fire, and hopefully in the morning you will end up with a half of dumpster and you can put the rest of the crap in there just make sure you don't burn down the neighborhood :laughing:


I know what real construction waste looks like. And I know my first examples are of only a few doors and trim and such. But that's only one example. And one thought. And by your reply I can see that you don't care about the waste or thee environment. Just because you lite a few pieces of trash doesn't mean you just eliminated the waste. Matter cant be destroyed or created you just made it so now I have to breath it instead of watching it rot in a land fill. 
I'm talking about all the waste, what can we do to eliminate it, reduce it, reuse it, recycle it, or simply don't provide it. Think about a light fixture. Say you have 500 fixture to install in a apt complex. Have you ever opened one of these. First there's a box then styrofoam that fits perfectly in this box. Open up that to find the glass bowl to be in bubble wrapped. Tapped even. Also you"ll find the base also taped and bubble wrapped. Next hardware not just in a cubby carved out into the styrofoam but in sometimes separate plastic bags and again taped. Now I know that's a lot to take in and wooh you don't package it. But its waste. I know electricians who dont even use the hardware that come with the fixture. They supply there own so the dont have to open the small bags. Those just get thrown out. But that's ok cause there's a bonfire at your house huh. I'll bring the beer.


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## blacktop (Oct 28, 2012)

Send It all to Jersey !!! They know how to take care of trash!! :laughing:


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## Golden view (Feb 16, 2012)

The packaging thing I hate. I propose retailers be made responsible for taking it all away, then they'll push for change.


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## TBM (Oct 13, 2016)

Golden view said:


> The packaging thing I hate. I propose retailers be made responsible for taking it all away, then they'll push for change.


They should be. But also why with all the extra parts. A door knob will come with 2 extra screws and 2 strike plates and an 5mm Allen wrench &#55357;&#56615;. Godfrey send what's necessary to put it on. Even if its a screw short I know where mg local hardware store is. Hell most of us are in there everyday anyways.


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## 91782 (Sep 6, 2012)

yes. Helped this outfit get off the ground over 15 years AGO.

We're still close acquaintances.:thumbsup:

http://www.ewsmullins.com/


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## TBM (Oct 13, 2016)

SmallTownGuy said:


> yes. Helped this outfit get off the ground over 15 years AGO.
> 
> We're still close acquaintances.:thumbsup:
> 
> http://www.ewsmullins.com/


Now that is useful.


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## TBM (Oct 13, 2016)

One thought I've had had is have say your lumber supplier pick up all of your scrap and cut offs that could be of some use. And storing it in the corner of there lot. 
How many times have you need ten more truss blocks and had to cut them out of a stud or 16' 2by just cause that job hasent produced enough water for the blocks. Or say even worse you had to order in some more 2x12 cause full height blocking is required. If i could just go grab it from the community scrap pile id be golden.


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## rblakes1 (Jan 8, 2015)

blacktop said:


> Send It all to Jersey !!! They know how to take care of trash!! :laughing:


We elect it and send it on the campaign trail

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## dutchroots2 (Sep 20, 2016)

We all do our best to minimize waste. That's not being green (hate that term), that's being practical.


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## dutchroots2 (Sep 20, 2016)

TBM said:


> One thought I've had had is have say your lumber supplier pick up all of your scrap and cut offs that could be of some use. And storing it in the corner of there lot.
> How many times have you need ten more truss blocks and had to cut them out of a stud or 16' 2by just cause that job hasent produced enough water for the blocks. Or say even worse you had to order in some more 2x12 cause full height blocking is required. If i could just go grab it from the community scrap pile id be golden.


My local lumber yard does something along these lines. I don't think it's material that was brought back from jobsites, but they usually have a box of wood scraps in the parking lot that are free to anyone.


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## dutchroots2 (Sep 20, 2016)

TBM said:


> They should be. But also why with all the extra parts. A door knob will come with 2 extra screws and 2 strike plates and an 5mm Allen wrench ��. Godfrey send what's necessary to put it on. Even if its a screw short I know where mg local hardware store is. Hell most of us are in there everyday anyways.


Blame the do-it-yourselfers for that. Convenience.


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