Mass. house built from "Big Dig" scraps

[underpants]

The home of Paul Pedini and Cristina Perez-Pedini in Lexington, Mass., is shown Tuesday July 18, 2006. The structure is constructed almost entirely of steel and concrete from Boston's Big Dig, utilizing over 600,000 lbs of recycled materials. (AP Photo/William B. Plowman)





http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/us/071106bigdig/im:/060801/480/43cc249be54b4042bcc3af78ec6c93ce

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/big_dig_house

"These materials are as good as you can get," said Pedini, a 51-year-old civil engineer who spent a decade working on the Big Dig. "We were being paid money to junk this stuff. There's something inherently illogical about it."

So instead of dumping top-shelf materials, recycle them into a public housing project, municipal parking garage, prison, even as a replacement bridge.

It took just three days to erect the frame of the "Big Dig house," a 4,300-square foot home, which cost $645,000 to build. It overlooks a neighborhood of modern homes atop a hill in Lexington, a tony suburb about 12 miles west of Boston.


Pedini got the materials for free, estimating the giveaway saved Modern $20,000 in demolition and dumping fees.

The house, built on land that Pedini bought for $410,000, consists of two main living spaces. Up a few steps from the front door is a 1,000-square foot combined kitchen and dining room. A finished basement that doubles as a workout space sits below, and the master bedroom is above it on the top floor.

[WilliamPitt]

1. Hopefully it won't fucking collapse on them

:grr:

[underpants]

7. Yeah

I've heard of that happening to people recently.

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. $645,000 and the materials were free??

Must be some house.

[Skidmore]

3. Only a Republican could build like that.

Must be one of them there government contractors.

[lectrobyte]

4. Only the steel and concrete were free. Look at the pics again, there's

probably $200,000 worth of windows and doors alone on that house.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. So what was the other $440,000 for?

Nails?

[underpants]

6. The article says (if you read it) that the land cost $410K

Must be some land.

[WilliamPitt]

8. "Must be some land."

Lexington is one of the wealthiest suburbs in Boston. $400k for land out there is cheap.

[underpants]

10. Oh

yeah then there is that :banghead:

I should have thought about that.

[lectrobyte]

11. Lots of stuff. Labor. Plumbing, Floors, Sheet rock. Wiring. Roof.

etc.

[AngryAmish]

9. The Big Dig disgusts me

The whole thing was a criminal enterprise. The contractors literally stole millions of our tax dollars.

Then the politicians in Boston and Massachusetts had the gall to seek for federal money for repairs. One would think they at least would have some capacity for shame. Thieves.

They get no more money. Not a dollar not for anything until you show some capacity to keep the thieves away from the money. Pay for your own things for once.