Wall Teardown: Dec 16 2014

So three of us tackled a chunk of the wall this evening for about 2 hours.

This is the result:

Things we learned:

  • it is more than possible to get large pieces of dry wall clear
  • drywall debris MUST be kept separate from other debris such as insulation to be recycled
  • pallets along the longest wall must be moved to allow access
  • there are an astonishing number of screws in the drywall

The process used:

  1. Cut along seams between drywall pieces to free up sections.
  2. Find screws by dragging a crowbar along the stud.
  3. Unscrew as many screws as possible to free up the drywall
  4. Insert the crowbar between the stud and the drywall. Used controlled flexing to pop large sections of the drywall free.
  5. Stack the drywall neatly.

The second sheet of this Google Spreadsheet has the rough dimensions of the wall: Vancouver Hackspace Move Inventory (Dec 17 2014) - Google Sheets

If correct, we have ~675 square feet of drywall, or ~21 4 ft by 8 ft sheets.

Does anyone recall how thick it is? Half inch? 5/8 inch?

To recycle it, we need proof that it doesn’t contain asbestos. Does anyone have the original bill of sale/receipt detailing this?

This line discussing how drywall can be recycled at the landfill: Disposing of drywall | City of Vancouver

Highlights:

Drywall and gypsum disposal rate: $150.00 per tonne
Minimum fee

  • Varies by location and load
  • Free with a paid load at the Transfer Station
  • $5.00 without a paid load at the Transfer Station
  • $10.00 for up to 2 sheets at the Landfill

Accepted locations

  • Landfill
  • Transfer Station

Maximum amount we accept

  • One pickup truck-load that is level with the back and sides of the truck cargo area at the Landfill
  • ½ sheet at the Transfer Station

Remember: KEEP THE DRYWALL SEPARATE FROM THE OTHER GARBAGE!

Cheers,

  • Andrew
5 Likes

Awesome work.

We can take the drywall to the North Shore, just over the 2nd narrows. There are no limits as far as I can tell. If someone has a decent vehicle we can rent a trailer and stack it into the trailer (perhaps get a vehicle trailer and roll a pallet or two onto the trailer).

A bin might be cheaper and easier but perhaps difficult at this time of year.

http://www.wastech.ca/index.php?page=rates-2

GYPSUM: $150/t ($15 minimum), accepted at all the Wastech Recycling and Transfer Stations.

@JohnC is that in the records?

Thanks for the info and for starting to tackle the wall beast. Hope it wasn’t too dusty.

i will drop by after 17:00 to help with demolition.

Just a thought… If the drywall is largely undamaged, I suspect most contractors will remove them for free and you won’t pay a dime in recycling charges?

Ian

There is no way you could remove the drywall undamaged. There are too
many screws.

Steve

1 Like

There should be date stamps on the back of the sheets that indicate it was made after people became asbestos conscientious.

Ping when someone is working on the wall tear down, I will help out.
30min away worst case.

pallet hand jack for the weekend?

weekend wall tear down times?

A bin for the drywall?

I’ll have to check later today. Is there a manufacturer code/part # printed on the back of the drywall?

@JohnC the drywall all came from Home Depot, that might make the search easier.

I doubt there is even a remote chance the drywall has asbestos in it. They haven’t used asbestos in drywall in decades.

Agreed, the issue is whether they will ask for proof at the disposal place (I doubt this too but you never know).

When I researched disposal at the dump they specifically said you need to
bring prof of the drywall origin/packaging to indicate it had no asbestos.

I’ll look for the original bill of sale this evening.