When I started this blog I had planned to write about things I found discarded in my neighborhood. However, I’ve been surprised to find that many of the things I’ve found lying around have been at my own house.
my old door — and a toilet seen on the street
I’ve just learned that in some parts of the country, there are “thrift stores” for building and remodeling materials. One example is The Rebuilding Center, located in Portland, OR and in other locations in the US. They accept many types of reusable building or remodeling materials and will provide you with a receipt for a tax-deduction. Their website includes a list of items they will accept, or you can call them to ask about an item that’s not listed.
The items are sold to the public for prices that are from 50-90% below list. Some items are relatively modern and are just good deals, but others might be vintage materials or cast-offs from old houses being updated.
The non-profit Rebuilding Center diverts 4.5 million pounds of reusable building materials from landfills each year. There are currently over 500 successful centers repurposing building materials throughout the US and Canada. Unfortunately, the list doesn’t include any in New York. Sounds like a great opportunity for someone with a bit of building experience!
Wow – thanks for mentioning The ReBuilding Center! I wanted to direct you to a website, http://www.redo.org, where you can search for similar reuse centers all over the United States. To my knowledge there are at least a handful in New York… one of them may be close to you!
Thanks, this is great. There are a few places near me.