I’ll continue to post building related resources here – and the juiciest stuff will go to my email list (sign up below!)
- Hiring Women and Queer people! Help raise the miserable stat of only 3% of women in the trades…hire me and/or click here (formerly hire-a-dyke)
- Cheap bulk salvaged building supplies! A guy in the San Jose Area sends me emails about demolitions – pictures of doors, windows, wood, sinks, appliances, etc for sale with prices and locations. Get on my email to sign up for his email!
- Building sites…So Much Waste! It is really easy if you don’t mind engaging with people – just roll up and inquire with the workers who about any left-over supplies. Often there is a dumpster to dig through ( be careful) or a pile that is ready to be chucked into a dumpster. They would rather you take it than pay to have the dump take it (and work to get it in the dumpster and haul it there). This is a great place to find Plywood (medium-small size), 2×4’s (under 4ft), other dimensional lumber (usually short), small batches of flooring and hardwood, and if it is a remodel or refurbishing, you can find some nice old wood that needs a few nails removed and a planer and it’s good as holey-new.
- Habitat for humanity Restores – mid range used pricing. Good for windows, paint supplies, sometimes wood, tiles and things they get in… some appliances.
- craigslist.com – “Materials” category. Set a few alerts for what you need. Ya gotta be quick to get the good stuff! Good for fence board, left overs.
- Letgo.com
- RecycleTown aka the dump – VERY cheap. Gotta be lucky to get there at the right time/right place. Be open to finding a gem and changing your plan to accommodate your new finds. GREAT for tile, sinks, furniture, hand tools, wine barrels & random finds.
- UrbanOre in Berkeley – smells like pee and customer service is usually terrible. Sometimes you can find something you love and then have to haggle with a dude-bro to convince him you can actually get that new for the same price but you LIKE to build with salvaged dented old shit to reduce demand on resources/the planet but he doesn’t care b/c he works on anger and commission.
- Building Resources in SF – a better deal. Lots of huge wood beams, windows, wire, tile, pots, etc. A cute outdoor scene and people are really sweet.
- There are many mysterious yards (in Richmond mostly) of old redwood, appliances and other salvaged supplies headed to Mexico for new construction (where it is legal to use salvaged supply). I am always looking for ways to intercept this! I was able to before and I will send my email list tips that I find out on the way 😉
- http://greenlynx.net/shop/reuse/ and places like it….search in your area for salvaged building supplies
- Flea Markets (Laney in Oakland, Alameda (antiques though), Sebastopol, etc.) GREAT for new open box brand named (Dewalt, Mikita) power tools (30% off new, but look new, were returned and sold to these resellers). See if you can test before you buy.
Did you know? Wood prices at Home Depot are different depending on the area. ALSO you can often have a load delivered for a small cost. See if you can work with a locally owned wood supplier first (as Home Depot CEO is a very rich Trump supporter).