By Joan Garrett

Staff Writer

Ethan Collier believes in reincarnation -- at least for three rundown old houses in North Chattanooga.

"These were three really junky houses, in really bad shape," said Mr. Collier, president of Collier Construction. "Most cases, those houses would have been just bulldozed."

Staff Photo by Patrick Smith

Collier Construction project manager Dustin Douglas sorts through recyclable materials from two gutted houses on Harper Street.

On Tuesday, Collier Construction launched an effort to grind down and recycle standing houses for future development. The move, some say, is a first in the city.

"Typically developments go in and if there are houses in the way they just clear them. They landfill them," said Mr. Collier. "No one ever stops to re-evaluate what is usable of these structures."

Two houses off Cherokee Boulevard were stripped of materials to be recycled, such as wiring, plumbing, aluminum windows and siding. The wood frames were ground for mulch, and the old foundation, brick and asphalt shingles was ground into gravel fill.

A third house was moved onto a new foundation and remodeled, he said, and the cleared site will hold six residences.

Anj McClain of Green Spaces, a Chattanooga green building initiative, said Collier Construction is the first construction company in the city to implement green demolition without the request of a home buyer or owner.

"They are a step ahead of most construction companies in Chattanooga," said Ms. McClain, who also works with the East Tennessee Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. "They get it. They know it is the right thing to do. Not just to save money in the long run."

There are still many construction companies and home buyers who are resistant to green initiatives, and Ms. McClain said it is refreshing to see a company implementing environmentally friendly measures.

Not only will less landfill waste be generated, but there will be fewer trips by big trucks to the landfill and fewer trips for delivery of fill for the new construction.

Green demolition might be the "right thing to do," according to Mr. Collier, but it is not cheap and he is optimistic to think it will save the company construction costs.

Recycling and grinding the scraps of houses on Harper Street cost the company 20 percent more than traditional methods of removal.

Home buyers could pay $1,000 more for a house constructed after green demolition, Mr. Collier said.

"If we can't find six people in Chattanooga that are willing to put $1,000 more because we dealt with the property in an environmentally responsible way, then I would be disappointed and let down by Chattanooga," he said.

E-mail Joan Garrett at jgarrett@timesfreepress.com