Building a House...Using CalMAX

by Maggie Coulter

R. Scott Hill from the Rainforest Preservation Foundation is using CalMAX to find used construction materials for a home/office he is building to showcase the use of reclaimed resources. This year through CalMAX he was able to get more than a ton of material, including sandstone pavers, bricks, rock, fake cement rock, tools, and electrical parts.

Hill started the project in 1994 with a 660-square-foot house on a 5,400-square-foot lot in the Westside Area of Los Angeles. The project, now 80 percent complete, includes two 2-story structures and totals nearly 3,000 square feet. Nearly 95 percent of the interior and 40 percent of the exterior will be constructed from reclaimed building materials. Hill, who also works for Ecotelsis International as a Recycling Waste Reduction Specialist, lives and works on the site. Since he started listing with CalMAX in 1996, Hill has gotten wood, plumbing materials, heating systems, solar water panels, rock, marble, electrical supplies, windows, plants, and many other items through CalMAX.

"By using reclaimed materials, I am able to reduce what goes to the landfill and I get high quality materials, like beautiful hardwoods. By reclaiming materials like wood, marble, and metals we can help to both slow down the cutting of forests and not contribute to environmentally damaging strip mining," says Hill. Reclaimed materials for the project come from a variety of sources, including remodels, demolitions, new construction sites, and business overages and waste. When he is finished, Scott plans to list any leftover materials in CalMAX.

"Anyone can do what I am doing along with the great resources and support from CalMAX and the CIWMB," says Hill who hopes the project will help show others how reclaimed materials can be reused and precious resources saved.

Hill is still looking for materials, including low voltage and regular dimmer switches, 3 1/2" trim kits for can lights, photo voltaic solar panels, redwood, hardwood decking, window stools, granite and marble, river rock, insulation, a pond pump and filter and more plants including trees.

Contact information:
R. Scott Hill
Rainforest Preservation Foundation
3633 Military Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 836-3659
mfitzp1@lausd.k12.ca.us

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Last updated: August 01, 2008