When it comes to property ownership, you have many things to consider, including being a good steward of the environment. You can use recycled/repurposed/reclaimed material for your residential or commercial remodeling project, making your property “greener” and potentially adding some authenticity or rustic charm. There are various ways in which you can incorporate recycled materials into your plans, depending upon the nature and scope of your project.
Check to see if your neighborhood has a Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Builders, contractors and various others contribute unused materials from their construction or improvement projects. Though these items have not been used, or were possibly used for a minimal amount of time, they would otherwise be headed for the city dump.
You can frequently get items much less expensively this way, and you are keeping the landfills a little less full.
If your project requires lumber, you can also consider buying reclaimed wood instead of taxing the forest with a demand for new wood.
Look around at estate sales and going out of business sales. You never know what gems you might find that would benefit you in your endeavor. This is an ideal way for finding recycled material for a remodel, because the sale host may have removed certain fixtures and cleared out the work garage, providing you an opportunity to pick up some of the items you need for a small fraction of what you would if you purchased them new. If you’re remodeling a Victorian era home, for example, you might be able to find authentic pieces of “gingerbread trim,” those fancifully cut frieze boards, brackets, or arches, for much less than it would cost to get them newly cut.
From tiles to door knockers and everything else you need, you can focus your efforts on using repurposed items as much as possible. It is likely that you will save some money, and you will reduce the stress on the environment that occurs when construction projects focus on new materials instead. Not to mention that when anyone compliments your home, you’ll have an interesting story to tell for those reclaimed pieces.
