Plan salvage ownership and storage

Identify each item by location and photograph. State whether you want it retained in place, assessed for recovery or removed as waste if recovery is not suitable. Do not promise a recipient that an item will be reusable until its condition and removal requirements have been assessed.

Prioritize the inventory. A sentimental fitting, a complete cabinet set and an ordinary loose shelf may have very different importance to you. Explain those priorities without instructing the contractor to take risks or disturb uncertain materials to save an object.

Record who owns each recovered item and who can approve its release. Specify a storage location, a person responsible for collection and whether packaging, transport or later installation are separate tasks. Do not assume a demolition quotation includes any of those activities.

Check that the proposed storage area will remain accessible and outside the work route. An item left in the demolition area can obstruct later work even after it has been successfully removed. If a donation or buyer collection falls through, decide who will arrange the alternative.

Review recovered, unrecoverable and uncollected items during handoff. Keep a record of any changed instructions. When enquiring with YAK, describe recovery as an assessment request and include the intended reuse, rather than assuming that removal guarantees a reusable product.