Junk yards The rise of used building material stores

Dimensions. "The fact that they can shop resale and save money and the environment is a huge attraction."

SHOWER doors, sinks, toilets and other salvaged merdrandise will generate nearly $500,000 in revenue this year lrom lhe 40,000+ cuslomers expecled to visit the four-year-old, 10,000-sq. fl. Re-Uze Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. An l8-ft.-high ceiling allows slower moving riratedals'to be placed out of thi way, saving valuable floor space lor laster movers.

l[^f OODWILL Industries is getting \fsome serious competition... from the building materials industry. In the last l0 years, largely motivated by a desire to keep waste out of landfills, the number of stores specializing in used building products opening in North America has skyrocketed 500Vo.

This new breed of home improvement-oriented thrift superstore arrives to meet the demands of consumers anesthetized by performing grubby recycling chores and shopping at nofrills home centers. "Warehouse and discount stores have primed consumers to shop cheap not fancy," said consultant Joan Pajunen, Service

In fact, environmental concerns seem to have legitimized resale. To promote the expansion of such stores. the Canadian government has helped establish the Used Building Materials Association, with five U.S. and five Canadian directors and headed by manager Danell Keating.

The group is planning a Conference on Build- ing Material

Re-Use & Recycling

Sept. 18-21 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Presentations include seminars on used building material stores and recycling various materials, workshops to identify barriers and solutions, and case histories of successful building material re-use/recycling companies.

According to the association, not every community can support a used building material yard. Larger cities are more likely to have adequate amounts of materials to

Examples of Reusable Building Materials

,Ooncrete ProdUcls

$ftilgfgg,;,, siding

Flumbing & FJealing

, Toilets,: Sinks : Paint

Hardware Cabinets Insulation

Hardrvood Flooring

Lumber

Carpels

Tiles

Ceilirg liles

Mab Doors&Wrndows

EbAdcal Lighting Countedops

Appliances resell and potential clients to buy them. If you know where to look, plenry of free or drastically discounted materials of varying quality are usually available, ranging from new or virtually new but outdated, off spec or manufacturcrs' seconds and closeouts, through virrually useless castoffs from individuals, manufacturers, retailers, commercial organizations, government agencies, insurance companies and salvage companies.

The two most common ways of obtaining used merchandise are by salvage and donation. The key to access is by making contacts with many different companies and organizations. Brown's Building Materials, Spokane, Wa., keeps in close contact with local contractors who may have to do some demolition work. "They tell us about two days before they're going to tear down a building, we go in and take out what's usable and pay them for it." said Ron Brown.

Brown also stocks his l0-acre site with doors, windows, plumbing and other materials from auctions and donations from recyclers. 'The most sought-after are the antique-type items, pedestal sinks, claw foot tubs, fancier doors with leaded glass," he said. "We also sell a lot of used lum- ber and lower grades of new lumber. Our customers are always looking for a deal."

As a result of the often altruistic aims of recycling, many used building material stores are non-profit. The 1,500-sq. ft. Home Resource, Atlanta, Ga., has been selling donated merchandise, "a little bit of everything but mostly doors and appliances," for 12 years. The profits go towards civic job training and self-motivation programs.

"It's a win-win-win-win situation," explained manager Eric Arrington. "We get the money, the consumer buys at a discount, and the donor wins twice because he gets us to pick up the material and keep it from a landfill and he gets a tax write-off."

Materials are often available from seemingly unlikely sources. Some railway companies use lumber for blocking containers in railway cars to prevent contents from moving. This practically new lumber is often discarded, so one of Habitat for Humanity's Re-Stores signed an agreement with the regional railroad to pick up their blocking and other "waste" lumber.

Insurance companies may be good sources of a variety of materials such as smoke and water "damaged" items and recovered stolen goods. Many useful materials are often discarded during major remodeling of hotels, motels and other commercial build- ings. Architectural Clearinghouse, Edmonton, Alberta, obtains soine of its materials from commercial leasehold improvement projects. Government agencies responsible for remodeling or demolishing buildings may also be a good source.

Many stores obtain and sell materials on consignment, while others don't because of the adequate quantities of free materials available or the necessary paperwork and low profit margin of consignment. Consigned merchandise usually sells for less than half of the retail price, and half the profit goes to the original owner.

Selling recycled goods can publicly portray a company as a good corporate citizen, but often companies don't sell new and used merchandise from the same location. Resale's largest challenge may be trying to keep the store from looking cluttered and junky. Resale means dealing with one-of-a-kinds that are often unpackaged and look used. Keys are organization in display and selectivity in accepting materials. Stores must be fairly confident that the material can be sold and for more than the pickup, inventory and handling costs. Acceptance of certain materials also includes the inherent acceptance of regulatory, potential health and safety and liability implications.

(http://www.teleport.com: 80/-hippo. 1 /) receives up to 1,000 hits a day, with orders received from throughout the U.S. and Japan.

"We're in the Yellow Pages listed under museums. It was the most bizarre thing we could think of," Steve Oppenheim said. "We have a lot of people who like to come in and look around tell us we're like a museum, and there's no charge for a standard phone listing. So we get a lot of tourists who come in looking for the museum, and we usually sell them something."

Among the hundreds of Used Building Material Stores-...

* Ardritectural Artifacts, Chicago, ll.

* Construction Closet, Tucson, Az.

* Dead Building MaterialCemelery, Anchorage, Ak.

Story at a Glance

Outlets selling used building materials multiply, reflecting new consumer attitudes how to acquire, resell goods.

Hippo Hardware & Trading Co., Portland, Or., was founded 19 years ago buying, selling and trading only used merchandise. but has gradually expanded into selling new items, as well as restoring, repairing and even manufacturing its own products. Their 30,fi)0-sq. ft. facility is packed to the rafters with hardware, lighting, plumbing and every house part that's not structural their salvage crews can grab ("everything but the plaster and lath").

The company's success lies in its constant search for new marketing ploys. Their Internet address

* Garbage Reinoarnation, Santa Rosa, Ca.

* Habitat Warehouse, Raleigh, N.C.

* Hobo Hardware, Guelpi, Ontaiio

* Metropolitan Artifacts, Atlanta Ga,

* Old Bright Used Lumber & Brick, Aspera, Pa.

* Restoration Treasures, Cooperslgyvh, N;V,

* ReStruction Store, Kitchener, 0ntario

* Second Chance, Macon, Ga.

* Urban Archaeology, N.Y., N.Y,

* Valley Materials,Exchahge, Wasilla, Ak.