Habitat for Humanity's "re-Stores",salvaging etc.

[tribalwind]

i found this link in the latest WWJ magazine (the free digital copy someone posted"

http://www.habitat.org/cd/env/restore.aspx

theyre basically home salvage warehouses,taking donations from people and leftover items/materials etc.
we have a few other similar places near me, "build it green" in brooklyn, and another place out in eastern long island.

i think it's pretty awesome that HFH is running these all over the country!!
i'll definitely pay a visit to the one here, wonder if i'll find veneered ply there,i have a wall unit i want to make for my bedroom think i'll post the sketch of that in another thread ~

anyone else salvage stuff for building their projects? ive made lots of pieces from solidwood furnituere ive found at the curb etc..mostly though i like resawing "firewood" or whole logs i get from folks/arborists,
i really get enjoyment from repurposing it and keeping valuable materials out of the landfill (although now i'm getting buried in wood,every nook/cranny of my shop becomes home to whatever will fit it)

[docrowan]

I used to visit the HFH salvage store when I live in Jackson, MS. Some good finds, but there's also a lot of junk they rip out from houses they're remodeling that wasn't worth much when it was originally installed 50 years before. I would guess the professional crew will pick through the best stuff before it makes it back to the salvage store. There's also a lot of donated new items that are given by home centers, hardware stores, etc from overstock or low-selling items. Tax deduction for them and a profit for the salvage store.

[dbhost]

I've been on the other end of the HFH ReStore program as a donor when I worked for a lumberyard. We would donate merchandise that was no longer "saleable" such as lock sets that were perfectly fine, but the boxes were damaged, or materials that were damaged. A lot of BB ply sheets went that way over the years...

I do a lot of repurposing of storm fall logs since my band saw resawing jig has been (cough cough) completed... It's functional, but not where I would like it... as well as reusing large panels from furniture such as the rails and headboards of old oak waterbeds and such... I have a stack of those in one of my shop corners under a few tarps...

I have been cruising through the neighborhood on heavy trash day looking for pull out cabinets, or cabinet doors and drawers that might include cabinet hardware for the stripping...

You might want to also check the Freecycle Yahoo group for your area. I have gotten quite a bit of goodies from there. I see a lot of felled trees free for the taking there. Simply slice them up, sticker and dry them and you have free lumber!

[Garasaki]

I bought my BT3k from a ReStore!!

[Roloff]

I like the idea but local to me, the Restore is rather expensive and I don't shop there much any more. Over the last few years, they've become quite a commercial operation. Not many bargains. They sell a lot of cheap new items. In fact, for junk, it can be quite expensive ($370 for a corner cabinet with a broken lazy susan). I no longer donate to them. I'd rather give it away at the flea market, people who need it can get it directly from me instead of paying to rent a large warehouse.

Charities in some places have become big business.

[Uncle Cracker]

I bought my BT3k from a ReStore!!

A glowing testimonial if ever I heard one...

[herb fellows]

I visit the L.I. store about once a month, just to keep my hand in. If you go around to the back of the store, on the other side of the lot, there is a place called Material Resource Center (2111d Lakeland Ave.).
The website is materialresourcecenter.org.
You really have to go to the website to see what it's about, ( you can buy with/without a membership, everything is sold by the pound, different pricing, etc.) but the short of it is that they get excess materials donated to them by companies that no longer need them, for whatever reason.
A lot of teachers use it for craft materials for their classes. Much like the re-store, it's hit and miss, but I have gotten some great bargains there on stained glass, flooring material etc., well worth a look while you're in the neighborhood.

I just noticed that you said there was another place on L.I.. Is this what you were thinking of? If not, what/where is the other place?

[crokett]

I've been to the one here a few times. It is a mixed bag. That is where I got the whirlpool tub for 150 bucks. Mine has lots of cabinets, used toilets, sinks etc but you won't find much in the way of lumber. Mine does have wood flooring you could repurpose though.

[germdoc]

I've gotten a few things and donated a few things.

Last time I was by I noticed 4-foot sections of bowling alley flooring--laminated maple--for $10 a linear foot. I had to hold myself back, but it was in 10-foot sections and heavy as the dickens and had some kind of lag bolts still attached to the bottom at various intervals that would require cutting. Since I couldn't find a use for it at the time, I passed. It may still be there for all I know....

[kevincan]

I check out the Restore near me on a regular basis. I have been lucky a few times and picked up some decent lumber. On one trip I picked up 4 or 5 1x6 red oak boards. They were 8 feet long and had a poly finish on them. I think I paid $2 each for them. I sanded off the finish before using them.

I have also picked up paint for kids/scout projects from there. They charge $2/quart or $5/gallon for paint. They must have some stores that donate their tint screw ups to them.

[LinuxRandal]

Mine has been pretty good. I picked up a chunk of actual laminated counter, for a workbench top. A friend picked up a sink, similar to the one I have (although mine has issues). I was looking for one to replace mine, and when his new wife, changed his kitchen design (hers was a better layout), it wouldn't work for him, so we did a swap. (my $80 Bies fence for sink that cost $600 new now)

I was even told and asked (same day) to go look at a Blodgett pizza oven at mine. I passed along what I thought, and a friend went down and bought it.

[tribalwind]

I visit the L.I. store about once a month, just to keep my hand in. If you go around to the back of the store, on the other side of the lot, there is a place called Material Resource Center (2111d Lakeland Ave.).
The website is materialresourcecenter.org.
You really have to go to the website to see what it's about, ( you can buy with/without a membership, everything is sold by the pound, different pricing, etc.) but the short of it is that they get excess materials donated to them by companies that no longer need them, for whatever reason.
A lot of teachers use it for craft materials for their classes. Much like the re-store, it's hit and miss, but I have gotten some great bargains there on stained glass, flooring material etc., well worth a look while you're in the neighborhood.

I just noticed that you said there was another place on L.I.. Is this what you were thinking of? If not, what/where is the other place?

hah, didnt know i had any neighbors here!
yes that's the place i was trying to remember,material resource center.
have you been to "build it green"?,they're a bit closer to you i'd guess, in greenpoint bkln,havent been there myself but heard some good things.

yep i've also been on both sides of freecycle many times, also free section of craigslist.

there is also one more site for NYC . www.wastematch.org
the finds are way more rare there but ive gotten soem good ones, never offered there as its mostly commercial outfits that post,or offices closing giving away desks etc...


besides the cab.grade ply, i could really use few more shop light fixtures,just too dark in some spots in there,gonna see whats floating on all these places now

[Garasaki]

Beyond the BT3k I scored there, I have been generally disappointed with the ReStore's in my area.

(this subject comes up every so often so you may want to try searching)

Typically it's just as cheap if not cheaper to buy stuff new then what you can get it for at the restore.

[RyFitz13]

Interesting... My Dad was just telling me this weekend that he's had a couple good finds at a ReStore up in MA - one that apparently has no affiliation with Habitat. He picked up a good sized chunk of laminate countertop for a work bench for $10 or $15, and a couple cheap base cabinets too. Looking around online, there are apparently a couple Habitat-related stores here in CT that I'm thinking about checking out.

One of them, on its website, had several pictures of things people had done with some of that re-purposed bowling alley - countertop, a few tables, at least one nice looking workbench...

[Ed62]

We have one fairly close by. I've seen pretty good bargains, but I don't recall seeing any lumber. They had a brand new fiberglass bathtub for $75.00, which I thought was a good buy, but I had no use for it.

Ed