local college, for example, his crew had ten days to deconstruct three of six houses and finished the project in nine days with about 25 workers (Block, 2001, p.43). Primdahls company also feels it can compete with demolition firms strictly on the basis of disposal costs. What we have discovered is that our crews are cost competitive straight up with the bulldozers, says Primdahl. Prior to the development of our program, it was an industry absolute that there is no way a deconstruction crew could take a house down cost competitively with a bulldozer. We have proven that simply not to be the case. Although 35 percent of the companys revenues come from recycling revenue, DeConstruction Services focuses the efforts of its workers on efficiency of deconstruction, period. We never go onto a job site in exchange for the materials, which has allowed us to have one of the only economically self-sustaining deconstruction programs in the United States, says Primdahl. He argues it frees up the crew in the field from picking up a board and thinking this has too many nails in itif I take the time to pull the nails, what is it going to fetch at the yard? The resale value of the materials is of no consequence to the crews whatsoever. (Block, 2001, p.44) The efficiency of deconstruction operations has also been greatly increased in only a few years time by new technology like de-nailing guns. While Primdahls company focuses on making deconstruction itself compete with demolition, there is no doubt that market situation for recyclables in the Portland area is crucial in the firms success. About 85 percent of the material from deconstructed houses can be reused or recycled, primarily because recycling markets are relatively mature there (Block, 2001). Landfill tipping fees are also a factor, increasing the cost of traditional demolition. And Portlands building codes mandate that all building projects with costs