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You didn’t really think I was going to post 101, did you?
Posts tagged salvage
Finally! A Finished Light Fixture!
It’s been nearly two years since I found my fantabulous light fixture at a salvage shop for $175. It sat in my work room for about six months before we rewired and installed it. Then it hung there with bare bulbs until last night. There was a bit of a problem getting the perfect shades but I finally gave up and ordered them because I got tired of looking at the bulbs.
Now I have a great light fixture! Total cost was under $300. Yeah, the shades were nearly as much as the fixture and lemme tell ya, I went cheap with those!
Marble Window Sill
This is a work in progress and it doesn’t look like much now, but I’m excited that after oh, about four years of plywood window sills, we finally cut the marble to install. The plan has always been to use the recycled marble that came from our fireplace hearth. Two slabs were sitting in the backyard. Don’t know what took so long.
The pieces are not wide enough. We’ll use smaller cuts on the sides and fill it in with grout to make up the difference. Wood molding will be added to the front, painted to match the radiator cover.
It will take about another four years to for the finished product.
Skip Diving, Dublin
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.
Reclaiming Our Roots
Reclaimed Home is going back to its roots! After moving back to Brooklyn, where space is an issue, we stopped collecting larger salvaged items for reuse. Well, it’s time to expand again.
Starting a tiny home based business was a breeze. Starting a small business with a team is a bit more challenging. But you know what? It’s important that we do this now for a variety of reasons.
Saving building materials from the landfills. Mother Earth is screaming for help. Tons of demolition rubbish goes into dumpsters every day.
Presenting restoration options for folks of all income levels. We’re going through some rough economic times. Why shouldn’t everyone have the same access to beautiful architectural details and furnishings for their dwellings?
Preserve our history! Old homes are being torn down to make way for new construction. Historic details are discarded of during renovations. The skilled craftspeople who created these materials are long gone. Let’s give their work a second life.
Here’s what you can do to help us achieve our goals. If it can be recycled, please don’t throw it out! We’ll take reusable materials off your hands. If you’re doing a renovation or know of someone who is, contact us before you allow your contractor to destroy house parts and throw them in the dumpster. We’ll carefully remove the items for you so someone else can make use of them.
It will save you demolition fees. It will save you disposal rates. Most importantly, it will save our planet from overflowing landfills.
You can email us by hitting the “contact” link at the top of the middle column. We thank you and Momma Earth thanks you.
Dumpster Living
Reclaimed Lumber Shipped Nationwide
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
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!
Grand Entrance
I was just looking back on some old Flickr photos of my Bed Stuy renovation and realized that I never blogged about my fabulous parlor floor hallway. (Nor various other little projects)
That’s the before shot you see above. The previous owners “renovated” the house. Oh please, don’t get me started. Everything in the hallway was painted a glossy shit brown…the bannister, the newel post, the doors and the molding.
We took the double doors down and stripped and repaired them. They were in pretty bad shape and needed some fill in material. The back door with that badly home made transom was switched out for an antique door that actually fit into the frame.
Ah, but my pride and joy is that newel post! The one that was there when we bought the house consisted of four pieces of plywood boxed together with a Home Depot doodad on top. We found a gorgeous salvaged newel post that would have been original to a brownstone of this era and replaced it with that. The post was stripped and stained to match everything else.
The Victorian light fixture and ornate radiator were also salvaged finds.
This stuff doesn’t really take much design skill. It’s kind of just like putting back what was taken out.
Renovating on a Tight Budget
If your renovation is costing more than you paid for your house, something is wrong. You shouldn’t have to sell your first born to update a home. Sure, there are certain large ticket items you wouldn’t want to skimp on….roof, windows, facade, boiler, structural. But semi-skilled work? Come on.
As you know, I’m a big advocate for DIY. If you put in the sweat equity, you can be save yourself in the vicinity of $40k. I came up with that estimate by comparing DIY input to that of an unskilled day laborer at $125 per day over the course of a year. My own skills are superior to a guy you pick up at Home Depot, so my own estimate is probably double that. Obviously you wouldn’t quit your $200k per year job to do it, but as a freelancer earning bupkas, I was able to put in the time. My husband who put in a lot less time because he actually has a full time job and does earn something, probably saved us even more while only working on the house on weekends. That’s because he has mad skills.
Before I go into materials, just a few thoughts on other ways to save on labor. Painting and demolition parties, barters, hiring apprentices to high end contractors and of course picking up day laborers.
Materials range from free to high end. Since this has the words “tight budget” in the post title, guess where I’m going with this?
FREE
It would be a fun experiment to try to do an entire renovation free of cost. But nothing is ever free. It would take tons of time and probably cost more in fuel than trying to buy locally. But here goes…..
1. Craigs List. Go directly to the “free” section. You may find anything from sheetrock scraps to clawfoot tubs. People measure wrong, decide to use something else or may want to recycle what they are ripping out.
2. Freecyle.org Sign up for the group to gain access to a nationwide network of recycled goodies. IMO, it sounds a whole lot better than it is. When I signed up, I couldn’t believe the audacity of some people. One of the requests I saw was for a minivan for someone with 8 kids. Hello, maybe you should stop having kids if you can’t afford a van! But I digress. You can post your own needs, search for what’s out there and offer up what you no longer want.
3. Dumpster Diving. Oh yeah! I’m talking dumpsters parked outside of a renovation, obviously. Better still, find the fixer uppers that have just closed, contact contractors and demolition guys to see if they’ll give you the head’s up. No, they won’t be happy, but one or two of them might not think it’s great to stick everything in the landfill. You know, those sensitive contractors.
Almost Free
1. Craigslist. This time search “materials”.
2. ReStores. Located throughout the US and Canada. Run by Habitat for Humanity, these shops take donations from the public and sell the items at a fraction of the cost. They have everything including the kitchen sink. Paints, cabinets, light fixtures, furniture….
3. Build it Green. I saw a coffin in here once. If you live in NYC, this place is just as good as any Restore since the closest ReStore is in Mt. Vernon. BIG is a huuuuge warehouse in Queens. They have new and used studs, wiring, cabinets, doors, windows, appliances and more. Do keep in mind that items like plywood, sheetrock and studs go quickly as these are basic to any renovation.
4. Salvage! There are antique architectural salvage yards all over the planet. Although you might sometimes find a bargain at Olde Good Things or Demolition Depot, they are not for the shallow pocketed. My two local faves: Eddie Hibbert in Clinton Hill and Vaccaro’s in Gowanus. I’m talking antique french doors for 20 bucks and marble mantels for less than $400. *They may need work.
5. Overstock and Closeouts. Every now and then, manufacturers need to get rid of some clutter. There are samples, irregulars and dead stock taking up space. They don’t always post it online, but I’ll give you a for instance. I once found the mother load of concrete tiles, countertops and sinks on Craigslist. Get Real Surfaces in Poughkeepsie was having a sale to get rid of dead inventory. I made out with enormous boxes of tile for $10 per box. They were probably worth about $20 per square foot.
6. Ebay. Did you know that you can buy faucets, toilets and tools on Ebay? Yep, it’s all there!
7. Overstock.com. Sometimes good for faucets, shower and light fixtures, tiles…it kind of depends on what they have that week. Hit or miss.
Upscale. Low Budget
Green Demolitions. Buy what the millionaires got tired of looking at. Top shelf appliances (think Viking, Sub Zero) and cabinets for a ton less than what you would pay new. These aren’t completely inexpensive, but it’s a good deal for what it is!
PS: Side effects may include saving the planet while saving your pocketbook.
Salvage Feast in Short Hills
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
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!
Hump Day Linkorama
Yaffa Cafe! An old haunt. Vanishing New York
DIY Couch Fix. Brick City Love
The Wedding Planner of Crown Heights. City Room
Rest in Fleece. Wool Coffins. Time
Salvage Worth the Trip to Philly. Casa Cara
Finally. Some New Etsy Listings
Between the house renovations and the sprained ankle, I did manage to bang out a few new pieces for the online shop and upcoming craft shows.
Booby Hooks is my favorite. The hooks are strong enough for hats, leashes and light jackets. Or bras. They’re real wood and they’re spectacular. $45
Ok, I kind of like this sweet boy too. He’s seen better days, but who needs arms when you can have scissor wings? That’s a note clip on the bottom there, in case ya didn’t realize. $35
When I told my mom I was working with dolls, she said “You hated dolls when you were a kid!” Well, there’s something to that. I used to pull them apart and abuse them. I must say, I took great pleasure out of ripping off Barbie’s head for this piece. Hang earrings or rings from her “arms”. $30
A little cherub love. This antique sewing machine drawer can be hung as art or can be used as an earring holder. Just hook the earrings through the chicken wire. The kissy blower sitting on the edge can hold some necklaces too. $60
Some Scrappy Robots
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.
