Once when visiting my Sister In Law she told me she was tearing down an old house to eventually build on. At that point my heart rate shot up, my palms got all sweaty and I felt as though I just walked into a store advertising an 80% off sale! (You know what I'm talking about!) I then asked her if she would mind if I did a little salvaging before the big event, which was happening the next day. Her response would be like most and she said, "Sure, but there's nothing but junk in there." And my response was definitely unlike most and I said, "Well Yeah, that's what I want!"
So the next morning my other Sister in Law (who appreciates a good Junkin' excursion) and myself took a drill, hammer, some screwdrivers, some grubby clothes and my Honda Oddessy (2nd best thing to a truck-if you have one you know what I mean!) and we went ready to salvage. (I would recommend a good pry bar too!)
Yes, on the surface there wasn't much to get. Most of the doors were hollow core and many of the windows were single pane and really big. We did find some sweet french doors!
I loved the little windows in the kitchen. My mind was reeling of all the fun things to do with them. It was even better that they weren't broken!
You can even multi-task while salvaging!!
When we looked even closer we found may unique items that would be fun to re-use. Look at these great hinges and great clasp on this cabinet. There is a fun project in the works for this gem!
In the back we found a couple of solid wood doors. So many fun things to do with these. We only took one and to this day I regret not getting the other. So when doing these type of adventures if you think you MAY want it, just take it. If you don't use it give it to someone who will use it. Otherwise it's just in a landfill. :(
I even found a great 24" X 24" mirror that hangs in my front room. I didn't even need to paint it!
Our spoils! So the house didn't look much different when we got done with it, but we were very happy with our goods!
Now we even looked around outside and found two old gates! Those are real fun to use in your garden or as a message center in a garden decor room! Never pass up an old gate :) So we fit it all in the Oddessy and notice Mary scored that sweet scallop from the kitchen (were you eyeing it too?) Love it!
So later that day we drove by and the house was going, going, . . . .
Never ever pass up a good salvaging opportunity! I told my SIL if she ever does this again I will make the 3 hour drive, bring my pry bar and do some more junkin'! I don't really consider myself a big environmentalist, but I do believe that we shouldn't let good things go to waste. The talent is in finding the good things!
Happy Salvaging!
