By raising roofs first, then plucking whole walls, crews dismantled two abandoned Glenville houses in a pilot project last month much more quickly and inexpensively than crews tore down two similar homes in Slavic Village last summer, working piece by piece, from the inside out.

The heightened speed could mean heightened profits for the practice of deconstruction -- salvaging many materials from the nation's doomed homes for second lives instead of demolishing them for nothing but landfills.

Deconstruction isn't suitable for all demolitions of old homes. Many are too damaged by fire, water or termites. Others lack the right stuff from the start.

But Kious sees plenty of opportunity in a town known as the world capital of foreclosure. He hopes to keep shaving days and dollars from deconstructions to make them more profitable.