demolition

On January 5, we had the existing house demolished. The existing house was built in two phases, beginning in 1968. Demolishing a house - even if you sort the rubble for recycling - is not exactly the most sustainable option for development. However, two things made the house unsalvageable: the garage sat on the corner of the lot, right at the intersection of two streets, and thus right at the point where we want to have a porch to greet our neighbors (not a box to store our cars); and the house was riddled with termite damage and mold. It took less than a day to reduce the house to dust, which is pretty humbling for two architects to watch.