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To some, salvaging might conjure up images of frolicking ruffians who dig through piles of refuse searching for giant electrical spools from which to fashion simple tables. However, as shown on Renovation Nation, this is a balderdash way of thinking about salvage.
Salvaging is a wonderful method to save money and the environment. By reusing materials, new trees need not be cut down, new products need not be assembled and trucks don’t need to be dispatched to local retail outlets.
Plus, you needn't salvage trash or have giant spools littering your billiards room. There are top-tier items to be discovered and restored. Those items are out there, waiting like chauffeurs at an airport.
Here are some tips for finding wonderfully salvageable materials that aren’t gaudy, dilapidated or unfashionable as a tie-dyed shirt.
- Go to garage sales. These are also known as driveway sales, yard sales, estate sales and moving sales. It may seem like these sales are just a way to recycle old baby clothes, but sometimes you can luck out and find a wonderful door, countertop or windowpane at a low, low price.
- Try antique stores. These places will be a bit more expensive. Antique stores are often too happy to call some trash a treasure. Be prepared. Your wallet may have to open a bit wider than you want it to.
- Go online. If you are reading this, you should know, in theory, how the internet works. Craigslist.org is a great website for finding the oddest of ends. Everything from panes of glass to cinderblocks, to piles of dirt and possibly kitchen sinks can be obtained from local folks via the web.
- There are brick-and-mortar stores that sell used bricks and, um, mortar. I live in Los Angeles and know of a handful of these places. Most locales will have such a place. A telephone directory can assist you in your search.
- Watch Renovation Nation. Steve Thomas travels the country, meeting people who undertake creative and eco-friendly ways of salvaging building materials. This may be a shameless plug, but it's an eco-friendly and hopefully useful plug.
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