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Refinish and reuse existing elements
You may find on a renovation of an existing building that some interior elements, such as walls, ceilings and doors, are in perfectly good condition and do not need to be replaced. This credit awards you one point for refinishing and reusing 50% of these elements. Projects are only eligible for this credit if the gross built area of the final building is less than two times the existing built area.
Check the calculation details
The calculation for this credit is a function of the total interior elements present upon construction completion, including both the existing and the new non-structural building components used in the project. Note that this approach contrasts with the calculation method in MRc1.1: Building Reuse—Structure and Shell, where...
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8 Comments
Historic Preservation
Building is on National Register of Historic Places. Extensive woodwork to be refurbiished and reused but will also require replacement to copy original patterns etc throughout finished project. How does this break down?
Tristan Roberts replied Editor – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, LLC Mar 03 2010
Under this credit you can count the refurbished and reused woodwork, but replacement would count as new and not contribute to this credit. You could earn the credit but it will come down to exact proportions to meet the credit threshold.
Richard Reed replied Mar 03 2010
Thanks, I followed through and dont make the % requirement due to the quantity of interior walls in the new additions to the project. Its really a case of fixation due to interest. The project woodwork will be the signature component of the restoration. There will be a lot of cash spent on it and as a result I will try to compile the cost figures and submit under MRc4 based on cost. I put very rough figures together for the MRc3 table. DO these figures link to the MRc4 data?
Tristan Roberts replied Editor – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, LLC Mar 03 2010
Richard, you're not alone. It's a common story that historic rehab projects that you think would be naturals for this credit do not qualify because they don't meet the credit thresholds.
You also can't apply the materials under MRc4, because "recycled" content refers not to reused content but to the manufacturing process.
MRc3 is also out because that credit does not let you take credit for "reuse" if the same material is being reused in the same location for the same purpose. Woodwork being reused as woodwork does not qualify for MRc3. It would have to be reused as flooring, for example.
But there is hope.... MRc2: Construction Waste Management should work for you here. Yes, you get credit for not throwing the woodwork in the trash. Maybe you can even earn an Exemplary PerformanceIn LEED, certain credits have established thresholds beyond basic credit achievement. Meeting these thresholds can earn additional points through Innovation in Design (ID) or Innovation in Operations (IO) points. As a general rule of thumb, ID credits for exemplary performance are awarded for doubling the credit requirements and/or achieving the next incremental percentage threshold. However, this rule varies on a case by case basis, so check the credit requirements. point here.
Richard Reed replied Mar 03 2010
Thank you for the clarifications. In order to reuse the woodwork we will have to completely break it down and rebuild it. pretty much uber recycling. I havent given up and will try to find some logical place to fit that process into a credit, trash seems unworthy of the effort, but thanks again.
Reuse of Building Exterior
If an NC project has no existing building to reuse but will be reusing more than 50% or the existing site including paving, might a project still earn this credit? I realize that 'interiors' are featured in the credit language, but reuse of existing site work in a green building project is also worthwhile and energy saving, and the tems 'green building' does include site work in many of the LEED credits.
Allison Beer McKenzie replied Architect/Director of Sustainability, SHP Leading Design Jul 11 2010
It definitely wouldn't count for either of the established building reuse credits, but you could have a case for an Innovation in Design point if you can create a compelling intent and requirements!
Anne Nicklin replied Sustainability Consultant, Davis Langdon Jul 12 2010
I'd agree with you Allison, there really is not a basis for including site reuse under MRc1.1 or 1.2. SSc5.1 rewards projects that retain greenfield sites, but there is no incentive for preserving a previously developed site. Reusing paving is actually often discouraged because of reduced SRIThe solar reflectance index (SRI) is a measure of a material's ability to reject solar heat, as shown by a small temperature rise. Standard black (reflectance 0.05, emittance 0.90) is 0 and standard white (reflectance 0.80, emittance 0.90) is 100. For example, a standard black surface has a temperature rise of 90_F (50_C) in full sun, and a standard white surface has a temperature rise of 14.6_F (8.1_C). Once the maximum temperature rise of a given material has been computed, the SRI can be calculated by interpolating between the values for white and black. Materials with the highest SRI values are the coolest choices for paving. Because of the way SRI is defined, particularly hot materials can even take slightly negative values, and particularly cool materials can even exceed 100. values in older or weathered paving materials.
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