Erica Krug
Mark Raszewski rescues unclaimed materials from businesses when they close or renovate. Nearly all of the items he sells are from Dane County.
When Mark Raszewski decided to quit his job in the insurance industry and start his own business salvaging and building with reclaimed materials, things were going well — until a tornado hit downtown Madison in 2014. The storm ripped the roof off his downtown storage unit and workshop and damaged most of his inventory. “This caused a huge setback,” Raszewski says.
Raszewski decided to look for work at a local architectural salvage company — he’d heard of it, but wasn’t sure it still existed. After some digging, Raszewski found the owner. The large architectural salvage operation on Madison’s east side was still in operation but the owner was ready to sell the business. No “right person” had yet shown up to take over her business, though.
Enter Raszewski. After working for six months organizing the inventory and fixing up the property, Raszewski reopened the business as DeConstruction Inc. in the spring of 2015. “I’ve always had a passion for architecture, buildings and antiques,” Raszewski says. “This combines everything I like.”
DeConstruction Inc. is open to the public Thursday through Saturday. The 6,000-square-foot warehouse, with a small prairie of wild flowers out front and a lumber yard next to the building, is a well-organized space full of salvaged materials including wood flooring and trim, windows, doors, sinks, light fixtures and antiques. When local businesses or facilities close or get renovated, Raszewski helps to take places apart (recently Mautz Paint, Marling Lumber, UW-Madison’s Agronomy research lab, and Oscar Mayer), salvaging many unclaimed materials.
DeConstruction Inc.
(left to right) Massive wrenches from Oscar Mayer, retro light fixture, door knobs and plates.
Even after the auction was held in December 2017 at the closed Oscar Mayer plant, Raszewski still got “truckloads of stuff” including jackets, signs, tools, books, stools and industrial food scales. Raszewski says 90 percent of his inventory is from Dane County and, because he doesn’t sell online, “it’s cool it is salvaged local and stays in the area.”
Many of Raszewski’s clients are business owners (several new restaurants in Madison have used materials from his place), contractors and woodworkers. Many homeowners also visit DeConstruction Inc. for materials for home renovations and DIY projects, like building a shelf or a fireplace mantel. “It’s a customer-focused place,” Raszewski says. “At other salvage places, they just say ‘go find it’ but we can help you find what you need.”
Materials are available in small quantities. “We want to make it less intimidating — instead of going out to a farm and having to buy tons of barn wood you can just come here and buy one piece for your project,” Raszewski says.
In addition to wood and fixtures, DeConstruction Inc. houses an eclectic collection of antiques including political buttons, salt and pepper shakers and vintage toy trucks. Raszewski also has an eye for turning vintage items into new homes for plants. There are repurposed oil cans full of houseplants filling the warehouse’s sun-drenched entryway. “Everything’s a planter,” Raszewski says.
DeConstruction Inc.
1010 Walsh Road; 608-960-0110; dcisalvage.com
10 am-6 pm Thurs.-Fri., 10 am-4 pm Sat.
