Q&A. Recycled Building Materials

Q. Hello, I am embarking on a project and I have every intention to make it as green as possible and yours seems like an outstanding place to begin for some advice. I am looking for some tips on where to find recycled building materials as well as advice on green materials in general. I took a look at your interiors site and got some good advice about bamboo, sorghum, and green flooring. I am hoping you might know of some spots in the greater Bay Area where I can shop for recycled timbers for displays, tables, and the like. My budget is tight (whose isn't) and I am willing to do some refurbishing and refinishing myself. Thanks in advance for your help, and keep up the good work of saving this beautiful place for all of our grandkids. Yours, Paul

A. At last, an easy Q&A! Paul, get yourself along to Urban Ore. A perfect match to your criteria. The 'mine' or excavate from the vast resource of one person’s unwanted materials making them available to others in need, for a nominal cost. In building materials alone, you’ll find doors, windows, cabinets, sinks, tubs, toilets, bricks, hardware and yes — timber. Plus so much more. In fact, well over 3,000 tons of goods every year, with a sales value of more than $1.2M USD is diverted from the Bay Area’s landfills. Sited on 2.2 acres (0.9 hectares) the operation has been suppliying homeowners, contractors, landscapers, artists, and students with recovered materials for 25 years. If they don’t have what you need try one of the Building Materials Reuse Association's member businesses. ::Urban Ore [by WM]