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Reuse Everything Experiment Visit the R.E.X. Website

Growing up I frequently heard my grandmother espouse the benefit of “save it, everything has use.” It’s a lesson that has shaped my goal to become one of the country’s top renew-it experts. In 2008, I took on the biggest re-use (or save it) challenge of my career – recycling an entire old home into a new home construction project. Entitled the REX. House (Re-use Everything eXperiment). My ulitimate goal was to never have a dumpster on site.

Imagine taking an old, dilapidated house, one with a crumbling foundation, rotting floors, crusty windows, stinking carpet, rusty water heater and old kitchen appliances and attempting to find a use for this disaster. I was up to the task. I love the challenge to take any old item and make it into something useable for the home or garden. . This addiction to find use for just about anything has led me to one conclusion – “don’t dump the junk!”

In less than seven months the REX Project was complete. And not only did I manage to reuse just about everything. I saved thousands of dollars doing so! Now I share the REX Project all across the country as a national speaker of salvage design and decor. I love showing folks, that if you just incorporate one of my ideas you can help decrease waste, stop supporting our landfills and join me in creating land empties!

The REX Project, Reuse Everything eXperiment Shannon, Glenn and Chase, day one of REX The 1920 house we could not save Light bulb moment, let's save the whole house Media Frenzie at Kick Off Deconstruction by The Rebuilding Center Crew Deconstruction of kitchen floor Removing lath from interior walls Saving every nail from old house found 1920's newspaper templates used as insulation Shannon hanging out during deconstruction A 35 yr old rat found in old house, gross! Laurel Hedge covered 20% of land What is Shannon up too? Old house materials stored in two containers on site lived a good life Son Chase standing on tree ready for transport Crane moved 7 trees, cost $900.00 Old concrete foundation, what to do? Old foundation ready to reuse Can you move that wall? His reaction... Vendors having fun at home tour Top notch talent of the REX Project NW Natural Gas BBQ at our first home tour Fans of the REX Project Pile of Lath...Lots of lath hand pulling nails from lath Seperating used rockwool insulation Old rockwool insulation is now in the chimney The old asphalt roof shingles, Old roof shingles have been ground up old roof shingles fill up decking hole yucky linoleum become a weed barrier under trees Saved crusty carpet for new weed barrier, looks ugly now... Old carpet is under top soil. Save on watering, carpet absorbs. Didn't buy weed barrier material, saved $400.00 Christine Ellis landscaper extraordinaire! Our patio & bench was old sidewalk old nasty living room, car track...weird Cool corbels, will have fun saving these Fort REX made with salvage parts Old furnace...timber!!! Old brick became our new basketball court salvaged brick to line garden path Must save the pipes, but how? Sewer, plumbing and electrical pipes soon to be artwork Trellis made from plumbing, artist Joe Clifton Salvage living room floor furnace grate Old heater grate, new outdoor boot scraper Shannon holding scrap metal for future roof our foam insulated recycled metal roof Hey, a beer bottle in shrub Shannon & Sadie showing future chandelier Ugly bifold bathroom door Haorld Keever gingerly installing beer and wine bottle chandelier Saved all the electrical insulators Shannon picked salvaged framing for kitchen island Way too much scrap wood, what to do? Our mini fridge sided with leftover flooring Awesome old window in living room window box made from floors and molding original kitchen cabinets will go in garage old sink, now in garage, old floors, new backsplash & counter Dennis Durkoop Master Carpenter taking the old backdoor Electrician Jerry saves time, no need for ladder original location of kitchen corner cabinet Salvaged Spruce from Urban Timberworks Holly tree had to come down but not out Coffee tables made from our Holly Tree Old driveway wood gates Our new headboard from old driveway gates REX Project completed in 7 months, no waste Thanks to Steve Cridland for keeping the Rex Project forever alive