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Letter: Old homes are full of irreplaceable resources that we should not waste

‘This sort of wood won’t be available again around here for 500 years.’
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Heritage homes, like these ones on East Ninth Street in North Vancouver, are made with old-growth wood and other irreplaceable resources. | Paul McGarth / North Shore News files

Dear editor,

Re: June 14th’s editorial: It’s time to stop wasting homes through demolition

I am living in a 110-year-old, two-storey Edwardian home. I have lived here for 35 years. In the 1990s, I opened the walls up during renovation and discovered that the walls are tongue and groove, full-sized Douglas fir planks up to 20 feet long. This sort of wood won’t be available again around here for 500 years. The idea that someone could take a bulldozer and smash everything to splinters fills me with anger. What a waste of irreplaceable resources.

Careful deconstruction will enable this well-seasoned old growth wood to be used again. I am hoping the next owner will love the house as much as I do, as it is truly irreplaceable. But if it is taken down, let it be done respectfully.

Mel Watson

North Vancouver