We have a place around here that sells used, salvage, damaged, seconds, etc and they are waaay cheaper than new. Sorry to say it's in SC though, not California!

Habitat for Humanity Restore?

The ReStore in my area wants $70 for a hollow core door that you can buy at HD for $20. They want $1 a piece for 4x4 tiles that sell for .39 each brand new. Yeah, it’s for a good cause. But the good isn’t getting passed along to the low income people in the community that need to shop salvaged materials as a way to keep up their homes.

There are several in the east bay. I do not have any personal experience, other than seeing the yards on television.

I think it's possible to find a number of old, used architects at some of the better salvage yards...it's where I used to hang out when I wasn't at the bus station...two of my three friends recommend Walmart parking lots...

I don't know N Cali at all, so I can't point you at a specific place. I WOULD say that you can get some decent salvage pieces in my neck of the woods for pretty good prices. My receptionist went down and bought out the whole supply of tin ceiling tiles and the tine cove to go with them for her house remodel.

Salvaged materials CAN be a PITA to put into a house, however. My builder has politely asked to put in place holder cheap fixtures if I want vintage lighting, because even rewired, it won't get past the building inspector (not UL approved).

And, after The Great Swedish Tile Stove Incident of 2017, I'm pretty sure my husband won't allow me back to the salvage yard.

Holly, we MUST hear more about the Great Swedish Tile Stove Incident. LOL

Sorry to hear about your ReStore Sophie. That's probably bad management - it's not a general policy to price so high. All of the ReStores in my area (MO) price things very attractively because they want to sell it and move it out and turn it into cash, and they also know how much things are new at the big box store. With rare exceptions. Sometimes you get a pricing person who's just out of touch, and a word to the person in charge can get an unrealistic price adjusted.

You did ask. :-)

When we first started looking at building, I was spending a lot of time on Pinterest. This is very dangerous. I discovered the phenomenon of the Swedish Tile Stove, AKA kakelugn, and decided I wanted one.

However, I live in Michigan, where they are not typically found. In fact, about the only way to get one was to contact one of apparently two people in the US who import antique Swedish kakelugn and install them in your home. Price tag for this is about $18K-25K.

I wrote this off as out of my budget entirely, but did still dream about one.

As we continued to commit more and more to the idea of building, and had an initial set of concept sketches from the architect, we were leaning toward at least building something with Swedish farm house flair. And I was intending to at least try to incorporated some elements that would make it feel older than it was. So, one cold morning, I talked my husband into stopping in at a local architectural salvage firm just to poke around.

There, just inside the door, was a pile of pieces of ceramic, covered in dust.

Yes, indeed. A genuine kakelugn, in the wild. In fact, one with a story. According to the salvage yard, it had belonged to a local dignitary and friend of president Ford, who had been an integral part of Project Ultra in WWII. The stove, so the story goes, was a 'thank you' gift from the Swedish ambassador. (I'm honestly not sure WHY, given that Sweden was neutral in the conflict, strictly speaking. But until I have time to try to hunt down the trail of the provenance, we'll go with that.)

Since said salvage yard happens to belong to the cousin of my boss, she stepped in to negotiate for me. Given that the thing had been sitting in the same spot for 10 years until I came along... and I was the first person to know what it WAS... we got it for a fraction of the price of having one imported. Now, it will still cost us something to have installed. But nothing like the prices quoted by the two import outfits. It is, for all intents and purposes, a masonry heater, wrapped in ceramic. So, once fired, it radiates heat for about 12 hours.

However, after that little gift from above, my husband is somewhat reluctant to allow me back into salvage places, for fear of what I'll come home with next. This is probably a justifiable concern.

I'm probably going to sneak off and go visit another one, anyway. I'm hunting for milk glass door knobs... maybe some reclaimed delft tiles...

That post brings up a good point. Salvage yards sell materials that won't pass inspection. For example,even if they are new, most of the exterior doors and windows will be obsolete(energy code). I can say with almost 100% certainty that an antique wood burning appliance would never pass a building inspection, let alone an insurance inspection. Be very careful...

Ah, but the whole interior of it will be rebuilt with new firebrick and mortar. The only thing "salvaged" is the exterior covering. Making it no different than a new fireplace with a salvage brick surround, for all intents.

You were obviously meant to come across that cool stove Holly, it was meant to be. Definitely write down what you know of the story, where you got it, etc. and add more as you discover. You're documenting history for the future now.

Good comment someone made about codes and inspections. I'm going to guess you can use an old stove as long as it's installed up to code. That means distance to flammable building materials, and having a proper flue for it. Your installer should know the codes and you can make sure that they check with the inspector first. One thing I've found is the building permit office may tell you one thing (usually super conservative, i.e. 'no') whereas a field inspector will just tell you how you can make it happen.

Most/many codes require a UL listing for new woodstove installs. A few states have even banned fireplaces in new builds.

IBC actually has an entire section on masonry heaters. Which are neither woodstoves nor fireplaces.

And, I live in a state where fireplaces are still perfectly legal.

Every time I go into a salvage store, I look at things and think of how much I'd have to charge to install a particular piece. Sure, those old doors are beautiful, but they've got to be hung. Better get a very good deal.

"Sure, those old doors are beautiful, but they've got to be hung. Better get a very good deal."

It depends on your goal. If you just think it's an interesting and unusual door, you might think twice when you realize what it will cost to hang. Or maybe you have some intriguing alternative DIY use for that door.

But if you're serious about restoring your Victorian or Craftsman or what-have-you, and the door is exactly the right style to replace that lumberyard door some previous owners put up in their 1989 "remuddliing," you might not worry as much about either the cost of the door or the cost of the labor. Of course that assumes that you have the resources to handle the cost.

Restoration is a whole other class of persnickety crazy hunting down correct old materials. The current HGTV abetted craze for using “salvaged” materials that were thrown away the first time because of the termite infestation is a whole other level of penny wise and pound foolish though. So is the “upcycle” movement that has ruined more nice antiques than old house fires and vandals combined.

No one ever seems to discuss the ancillary costs of finding that salvaged $2.98 piece that fits nothing, is full of old house wood borers, covered in lead paint, and looks like it landed from Mars in any house. They just use the word juxtaposition like that makes up for the crimes inflicted.

Nicely done LL!

One doesn’t fill a house with the stuff—Just one or two items. Also, as Lyndee Lee has shown, the salvaged item can be given a new life as something else (staircase now headboard). Exception is restoration as orig. built which to me sounds like making a Museum. to ea his own in this regard.