Salvaged and Recycled Building Materials Sources: SF - Seattle
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 04.23.07
As TreeHugger has noted time and again, second-hand and recycled materials are greener options than brand new ones in almost every case; if you can get it pre-loved (and save the raw materials required to create something new), we recommend it. For home improvement and other DIY-type projects, architectural salvage places can be gold mines for rare, unusual and "they-don't-make-'em-like-that-anymore" goodies that can be useful for creating a greener space or otherwise working on or in your house. Our pals at Apartment Therapy in San Francisco have compiled a handy list of salvage places that might just have the undiscovered gem for your next project; since they cover the Pacific Northwest, they (and their commenters) found some hot spots for salvage in the Portland and Seattle areas as well, pretty well covering the northern half of the west coast. In the Bay Area, they like Calwell Building Salvage, Ohmega Salvage, Urban Ore (whom we've mentioned before), Whole House Building Supply & Salvage, Eden and Eden and The ReUse People (shared with Seattle as well). A look around Portland turned up the Rebuilding Center (mentioned here on TreeHugger), Habitat for Humanity's ReStore, Tropical Salvage, Hippo Hardware and Rejuvenation Hardware. The Seattle area offers Earthwise, The ReStore and The ReUse People, for starters. This list ought to get you started; where else do you readers like to go for salvaged and recycled building materials between San Francisco and Seattle? ::Apartment Therapy: SF
http://www.resourceyard.org/ in Boulder (also Fort Collins) CO.
Any recommendations for some East Coast equivilants?
**Author's response**
Hi Amanda,
We know they're out there, so we'll be sure to organize them into a post sometime soon. Readers, feel free to leave your favs -- west coast, east coast, wherever -- here in the comments and we'll check 'em out.
-CD
Yes, any information on East Coast sources would be GREAT!
thanks
There is a place in queens called Build it Green.
South Seattle: www.seconduse.com is also a good one.
East coasters:
Demolition Depot on 125th Street in Harlem (between 2nd and 3rd, NYC) has some amazing stuff. Just floors and floors of beautiful old things.
http://www.demolitiondepot.com/vo/demo/
For those in the Baltimore MD area there is Second Chane Inc. They also have contacts with other similar salvage companies on the east cost. I know they trade Items with a company in Burlington VT (don't remember the name of that one)
HUGE salvage yard on east coast. New England Demolition & Salvage in New Bedford MA. Ove 80,000 sq feet of used building materials. Over 6,000 doors and 400 claw foot tubs just to name a few.