Salvaging: One Home’s Trash is another Home’s Treasure

We’ve recently had two clients, one a custom home and one a renovation, express interest in salvaging throughout their project. Salvaging is selectively removing materials before demolition to be used in future projects or donated; these items can include doors, windows, cabinetry, appliances or just about any other item that can be used elsewhere.

Salvaging not only saves a tremendous amount of natural resources, but it can also be a cost-savings when items are reused in your own project. Donations to organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity ReStore, are tax deductible, as well. At DH Custom Homes, we’re happy to help clients through the process — it’s very rewarding to know these materials will not end up in a landfill but instead find use elsewhere. Both our custom home and renovation clients will be using some of their salvaged materials in their new custom homes and donating materials to a variety of places, including the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

To begin the process, we meet with our client and together create a list of materials, including what is to be reused by them and what is to be salvaged for others. During the most recent renovation, our DH team carefully removed the items to be salvaged and stored them onsite to be picked up by the appropriate parties.

The St. Louis Habitat for Humanity ReStore will even send a truck to pick up donated goods, though it’s important to plan ahead because scheduling can take up to two weeks. The ReStore resale outlets sell reusable and surplus building materials at a fraction of the traditional cost. The funds from these sales help support the building of Habitat for Humanity homes in the community.

In addition, our renovation clients are donating some cabinetry to a friend who will be using them in an art studio, as well as providing several large items and appliances to an acquaintance.

She says of salvaging, “We are just so thrilled it won’t end up in a landfill somewhere and someone can use it.”

And we at DH Custom Homes are thrilled to help. If you are interested in renovating or building and would like to consider salvaging, give us a call for a free consultation.