Salvage Archives - Page 6 of 12

Skip Diving, Dublin

November 14, 2011 RH

So, we’re driving along minding our own business when I see this dumpster filled with old doors and windows. I immediately made my husband pull a U-turn on the windy, narrow suburban Dublin road. I know I’m not strapping a door to my back to bring home to the U.S. but that doorknob looked like something I could fit into my carry-on.

Upon closer look, everything there was a reproduction, so not worth going back to the mother in law’s to fetch a screwdriver to take the knob. I was rooting around in front of the house when a woman came out to see WTF was going on. Oops. Looked like nobody was there. I explained in my American accent (that makes it ok) that the doorknob looked good, would she mind if I came back later with a screwdriver to claim it? She told me it wasn’t her house and the gentleman was not there.

Yeah, right. She thought I was a nut. Screw you, lady, your doorknob was a hollow 1970’s POS anyway.

A few years ago, we walked around Dublin looking for a bunch of architectural salvage shops we found in the yellow pages. There were about five of them and it seemed that all five were out of business.

Perhaps with the economy in the dumps now, more people will look to the dump to rescue used material. Wouldn’t be the worst thing to come out of this.

Meet the Team

November 9, 2011 RH 3 Comments

The Reclaimed Home team is getting bigger! Yeah, there are two of us now. Woot! Huge company!

Cassidy contacted me via email a couple of months ago. She was interested in working in the architectural salvage industry. I told her that I don’t strictly do salvage, but I’m open to hearing any of her ideas.

Well, she had ideas! The young go getter (22 years) is no stranger to antiques and salvage. She grew up surrounded by old house parts because her father was in the business. If you haven’t guessed yet, her dad is Steve-Great American Salvage-Israel and she wants to follow in his footsteps.

The Reclaimed Home salvage ball is rolling along nicely. We’re planning, planning, planning. We have access to some major pieces and lumber (courtesy of Dad) to get us started.

So, welcome aboard, Cassidy! I for one am happy to have you here.

Great American Salvage

November 8, 2011 RH 3 Comments

Steve Israel with his daughter Cassidy

Great American Salvage has been out of business for quite a few years now, but it was one of the original biggies here in New York. Steve Israel started the business from his kitchen in Montpelier, VT in 1979 with Steve Tillotson. Gradually, the company expanded to four locations, including the massive shop at Cooper Square.

I recently met with salvage guru, Mr. Israel. The retired New York native now lives on a boat in Boston, but not for long. He’s moving down to Mexico in a few weeks. It’s clear that Israel’s passion is still salvage after all these years, but that never stopped him from pursuing other dreams. He started a brewery among other interesting projects.

But back to the salvage. What started out in his kitchen became a big business. Great American Salvage had their own demolition crews. They were able to dismantle buildings themselves and resell the historic details. They created special tools such as crowbars for carefully removing the materials. Ginormous objects were no problem. They just hired a crane to deal with it.

The salvage industry can range from small businesses recycling scrap materials to high end reuse of mansions. Steve Israel has done it all.

Reclaimed Lumber Shipped Nationwide

August 5, 2011 RH

We usually try to stick to local reclaimed wood resources but new advertiser Reclaimed Lumber (see link on the sidebar) has a warehouse in Pennsylvania. That’s local enough. Plus, they do ship nationwide.

The wide plank pine shown in the above photo is $5.95 per square foot. That’s not bad! The website says that shipping should cost less than $250.

One can get lost on the site. There’s all sorts of reclaimed flooring, including pine and oak from barns and wine barrels. But flooring is just the start. There’s paneling that’s not your grandma’s 1970’s wall paneling. Ceiling panels, reclaimed wood furniture, beams, frames and slabs. It’s the go-to source for reclaimed wood in any form.

You can buy and sell barns on the site. No sh*t! And old log cabins!

Kind of makes me wish I was restoring an old country home.

Reclaimed Building Materials, NY

July 19, 2011 RH

We’ve posted local reclaimed lumber resources here before, but the list keeps growing. Before checking out any of these pricey places, be sure to have a look at Craigslist first to see if anyone is giving away materials they don’t need. It happens.

Need recycled bricks? Chief’s in The Bronx sells used bricks and cobblestones.

Here are a few reclaimed wood and flooring companies to check out:

Antique and Vintage Woods. Upstate.

Restoration Timber @ NY Design Center

Cornerstone Salvage. NYC

And don’t forget this Coney Island boardwalk wood!

Reclaimed Space

June 29, 2011 RH

Salvage Feast in Short Hills

June 16, 2011 RH

I was contacted by a gentleman in Short Hills, NJ who wants to recycle all building material from a 12,000 sq ft house that’s being torn down. The major players are coming to have a look: Olde Good Things, Green Demolitions and Build it Green. There may be items they won’t take or you may be able to get there first. In any case, here are some photos of what’s on offer. Email lgsfecuaAThotmailDOTcom if interested.

Craigslist Building Materials

May 3, 2011 RH 7 Comments

Never underestimate the value of Craigslist when it comes to renovating your home. You can find anything from free studs to $1 Italian ceramic tile to reclaimed flooring at half the cost of outlets.

People often have leftover material from projects or they recycle the stuff they rip out. A short list of things I found on Craigs include…

1. Claw foot tub. Free
2. Glass mosaic tile counter and backsplash. $50
3. Finished walnut flooring for BR and hallway. $400
4. Like new cherry kitchen cabinets for entire kitchen. $500

How much does a marble kitchen countertop cost? $2000-$3000? $125 bucks for that 18×48 slab above. Yeah, you still have to cut it, but if you want a marble counter and it’s beyond your budget, this is one way to do it. I may actually give them a call as I’m looking for marble to use as window sills.

Reclaimed 1700’s pine wide plank flooring. No price and it looks to be a factory or lumber yard, so don’t know if it’s a bargain. Retailers charge $6 and up (way up) per square foot for this stuff. I think we paid around $10 many years ago, plus shipping.

This antique sink top includes the faucets and undermount sink for $200. Is that a fabulous bargain? Eh. But it’s one stop shopping since you don’t have to go out and find the fittings for the counter. You can sit it on top of an old dresser or antique wrought iron sewing machine base, as I’ve done in the past.

Retailers will charge something like $.65-$2.00 per used brick, but you can always find someone giving ’em up for nothing. This pile of used bricks is located in Poughkeepsie, NY. There are 250-300 of them. Sometimes you have to travel a bit to get something for nothing, so make sure it’s a whole bunch of something!

Some Scrappy Robots

March 31, 2011 RH

You know I loves me some upcycled robots! Here’s my latest find. Ottawa based Dan Ausin is the guy behind Rivethead Robotics. He started tinkering a couple of years ago with all the junk he was bringing home from thrift stores and dumpsters and the robots started to take shape.

They’re usually made from completely recycled/salvaged parts. He’s been in a couple art shows and a local (to him) boutique, but no online store just yet. If you’re interested in purchasing one , you can contact Dan through his Flickr site.

Via Neatorama.

Salvage Fix: Awesome Chandelier

July 13, 2010 RH 3 Comments

See, this is why I shouldn’t leave the house. I go out looking for some restoration materials and I come back with a light fixture that I don’t need.

Roy Vaccaro has lots of iron work and other goodies at his outdoor spot near Gowanus Lowe’s. I went looking for some marble for my window sills (Eddie Hibbert, if you’re reading this, you never called me back!) and ended up falling in love.

Check out that baby below! It’s big and heavy and has griffins and lions. How could I not buy it? The husband says it may be too heavy for our ceiling and I said “You make it work.” Cue whip sound.

Roy had many cute lights, but I had to close my eyes and keep moving.

So, what do you think I paid for it? Huh? Huh? It’s about 2 feet tall and is missing one dangly piece. Of course it needs rewiring.

Ancient Artifact Unearthed

July 6, 2010 RH

The hubby was cleaning out the basement over the holiday weekend (What, did you expect us to barbecue?) and discovered a vintage wedding cake. It was a very eew moment. The cake was sitting in a plastic bag in a freezer that hasn’t been plugged in at least since we got the place in 2005.

See all the black gunk? Yup, the icing.

After careful evaluation, we’ve dated the artifact around the 1980’s.

This is one salvaged item that ended up in the trash.

Reclaimed Radiators

January 26, 2010 RH 4 Comments

FYI, There’s a Canadian company called Ecorad that converts antique steam and water radiators into modern electric systems. Imagine not having to look at those Home Depot baseboards! And it’s green because they’re recycling the radiators.

The drawbacks? Well, they’re in Canada, for one. Cost is $475 per radiator transformation. Shipping to US would probably cost more than that. Electric heat, although cleaner than oil or gas, is the most expensive way to go.

On the other hand, they sure are pretty!

On the other hand, you can go to a salvage place and install an antique radiator of your choice. Below is my hallway masterpiece in Bed Stuy, under $200.

Via Planet Green

Pimp My Kitchen

September 4, 2009 RH 9 Comments

When reader Amanda wrote to me asking for recommendations on what to do with her 1950’s kitchen, I said “Let’s see some pictures!” So here they are. Leave your own ideas in the comments.

Here’s my input:

I still dream about those cabinets from this post and I think Amanda has to go PINK, PINK, PINK! Whatever color you choose (PINK!), I think the “Rick Wrench $50 paint job” are some of the best tips on the internets.

And don’t forget the pink fridge to match from this post. Ok, if these are too pricey, get an old fridge and paint it along with the cabinets. I’m not sure how I feel about vintage fridges though. Energy wasters, ya know?

Throw in a splash of blue for the counter top. See this post.

Vintage linoleum from Second Hand Rose. Kind of expensive. Hmm….how creative are you? I’m seeing painted floors.

Do you know about Retro Renovation? You can spend hours on that blog!

I’m done. Ok, your turn!

Landmarking and Scavenging

August 28, 2009 RH 3 Comments

I’ve been hard at non-computer related work this week, so it’s been a struggle to keep up with fresh blog posts. Luckily, I have some fabulous blogger buddies who send me updates periodically.

One of them is my neighbor, Mr. “Save Bedford Stuyvesant” Morgan. He emailed about a new blog that will keep track of the landmarking of our section of Bed Stuy. Wanna know what it’s called? Bedford Corners. How “It’s a Wonderful Life” is that? (I know, I know….that was Bedford Falls)

Just so you know, Bedford Corners is not a new real estate term. It’s the area surrounding the intersection of Bedford Avenue and Fulton Street. Bedford was founded in the 70’s (as in 1670’s) and later became “one” with Stuyvesant Heights. Bedford + Stuyvesant = You do the math.

Ms. Renovation Therapy Jean alerted me to the new blog, Scavenger List. They go around NYC taking photos of curb “trash”. You know what they say about one man’s trash?

Locations are posted and there’s even a google map of where these treasures are. I’d be worried that they would be gone by the time I made my way over. Did I ever mention the beautiful dresser I missed because I didn’t want to move my car on alternate parking day? It was either the good parking spot or that dresser and I chose the spot. Oh, what this city does to people.

Free Craig Listings

July 10, 2009 RH 2 Comments

The only thing better than a good bargain is getting something for nothing. The Craig’s free listings is one of my biggest obsessions. Word of advice: If you see something, you have to grab it immediately. There are a lot of other greedy f*ckers out there. Early bird catches the first worm. You snooze, you lose.

Here are some postings that are probably no longer available.

The Mt. Vernon piano above is in need of restoration. I always see listings for free pianos. Always.

Three doors, old and new, located in the basement of a Gowanus house.

Two sofas and two chairs in Queens Village. Plastic slipcovers included.

Blue toilet! Located in Poughkeepsie.

reclaimedhome.com

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