Family members of the woman who used to live in the house called Habitat for Humanity and asked if they would be interested in the property, Means said. The house, with an empty lot next door, was perfect, he said.

Although a modest structure when built, the house is planked in poplar and features oak flooring inside. Means said the flooring in particular is appealing to modern builders.

"The stuff that was put in this house years ago is superior to what there is today," he said. "There's just a richness and a luster to old wood that people like."

Volunteers for the Underwood Institute, an offshoot of the West Virginia Republican Party that encourages young people to be more politically active, were working at the house on Thursday. Micalyn Kuhl, 22, of Parkersburg, was busy prying drywall from the old studs and taking old paneling from the walls.

"I think I like deconstructing better than building," she said.

Means said Habitat for Humanity officials hope to have the house completely disassembled by the end of July and start building the new house almost immediately.

Reach Rusty Marks at rustyma...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1215.

DUNBAR, W.Va. -- Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

Officials for Habitat for Humanity hope to promote all three concepts with a house they're taking apart in Dunbar, piece by piece.

"Velvet crowbar; that's our motto," said Shawn Means, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Kanawha and Putnam counties.

More than 140 volunteers are taking turns deconstructing the house on Dunbar's 19th Street. When they're finished, everything that can be salvaged from the house will be taken to Habitat for Humanity's ReStore, a facility at 301 Piedmont Road that resells used building materials and fixtures.

Habitat for Humanity volunteers routinely save doors and other easily removed parts of houses they plan to tear down, but Means said this is the first time they're taking a house apart with the intention of recycling as much of the structure as possible from roof to foundation.

The process, called deconstruction, involves disassembling the house instead of just knocking it down. "It's very labor-intensive, but most of this house is reusable," Means said.

ReStore director Amy McLaughlin said about 80 percent of the house should be salvagable. Means said doors, windows, cabinets, bathroom fixtures, solid oak flooring, planking that makes up the subfloors and exterior walls and even studs can be carefully removed and reused.

When they're done taking the house apart, Habitat for Humanity volunteers plan to build another house on the same site for a family with 11 children. Means said the existing house is too small and too old to fix up.

Family members of the woman who used to live in the house called Habitat for Humanity and asked if they would be interested in the property, Means said. The house, with an empty lot next door, was perfect, he said.

Although a modest structure when built, the house is planked in poplar and features oak flooring inside. Means said the flooring in particular is appealing to modern builders.

"The stuff that was put in this house years ago is superior to what there is today," he said. "There's just a richness and a luster to old wood that people like."

Volunteers for the Underwood Institute, an offshoot of the West Virginia Republican Party that encourages young people to be more politically active, were working at the house on Thursday. Micalyn Kuhl, 22, of Parkersburg, was busy prying drywall from the old studs and taking old paneling from the walls.

"I think I like deconstructing better than building," she said.

Means said Habitat for Humanity officials hope to have the house completely disassembled by the end of July and start building the new house almost immediately.

Reach Rusty Marks at rustyma...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1215.