• Architectural Salvage VI

    Given the seemingly endless popularity of the DIY movement, awareness of green practices and recycling as parts of the design/build process and the high cost of new materials, salvage businesses continue to thrive:

    and in the UK, where architectural salvage is a way of life:

    • Cheshire Demolition "offers one of the biggest salvage and reclamation yards in the North West. They offer everything from reclaimed doors to fireplaces."
    • The Salvage Doctor specializes in the "reclamation and restoration of cast iron architectural salvage and antiques," and carries an extensive range of radiators (cast iron, school- / hospital- /column- style, etc.), fireplaces & surrounds, woodburning stoves, rainwater systems (guttering, downpipes & fittings), gates and railings. They are located in Horsham, West Sussex.
    • In Situ trade out of their Manchester ex-pub warehouse and studio. They keep a large stock of the usual – with attention to fancy pavers, lighting, glass, flooring, entryways and doors / door furniture.
    • Cox's Architectural Salvage has operated their 12,500 sq ft covered warehouse in Moreton-in-Marsh since 1992. They are one of the largest Victorian ironmongers in Britain, and also refinish and sell their own line of nickel plate and brass hardware.
    • Toby's Architectural Antiques has shops in Exeter and Newton Abbot. They carry a wide range of exterior detail – gates, ironmongery, roofing, slate, stone, water features – as well as kitchen materials, doors, light fixtures etc.
    • Park Royal Salvage at the Lower Place Wharf in London sells everything from building materials, doors, windows and reclaimed plumbing to doors, windows, fireplaces and other old house parts.
    • Robert Mills Architectural Antiques are one of the more specialized shops of their kind, with an especially large stock of architectural woodwork, mainly panels, columns, balustrades, mouldings and friezes, window frames, etc.

  • Mendota Mantels in St. Paul, Minnesota

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    Each Mendota mantel – made from antique reclaimed old-growth timbers and "rescued wood" – is unique, and uniquely beautiful. The wood has been salvaged from old barns, mills and warehouses, most built from the mid 19th to early 20th century, and each piece is sculpted with hand tools. Custom carving – like this piece by Jock Holman, on a rescued beam from a Norwegian ship – is available, although much of their work simply celebrates the natural grain and shape of the wood without any additional decoration. They describe the provenance of their materials thus:

    Antique Reclaimed timber mantels are recycled beams that have
    been salvaged from old buildings. They have an estimated age of 300 to
    800+ years. They are antiques. They grew from old growth forests that
    flourished in America through the 1930’s – forests that are now mostly
    gone.

    Our reclaimed timbers were milled into beams in the
    late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to become mills,
    factories, warehouses, and barns – buildings now being demolished.

    Unlike water-salvaged timbers, our Reclaimed timbers have been air-aging for over 100 years. This slow air-drying enhances color, beauty and character.

    Most importantly, air-dried timbers are more stable and much less
    likely to twist or check (crack). Reclaimed antique timbers are a
    limited resource.

    Our ‘Rescued’
    timber mantels are milled from present day trees that have been
    discarded. They are most often logs from urban tree services, storm
    blown trees, or ‘ends’ from logging operations.

    The artisans at Mendota are comfortable working in the Craftsman / Mission Revival style, as in this piece by Dan Guion, just as much as doing much more contemporary-styled work like this backlit mantel made from heart pine reclaimed from Wabasha’s Big Jo Flour Mill. Check out a gallery of their work.

  • Craigslist finds, May 2007: West Coast Edition

    Plenty of nice stuff out there if you know where to look. Included for your edification, several bits & pieces of Arts & Crafts furniture, architectural salvage and other related items that I’ve found using the terrific Craigslist search engine Crazedlist.

    • refinished Limbert dresser with original copper hardware, $1000 (San Francisco CA)
    • document or sample cabinet, $340 (Santa Cruz CA)
    • Gustav Stickley ladderback chair, $475 (Santa Cruz CA)
    • L & JG Stickley "postal desk" and rocker, $500 ea (Glendora CA)
    • set of 4 early Mission Revival / Craftsman side chairs and 1 armchair, $350 (Ventura CA)
    • Stickley #729 writing desk, $5900 (Montecito CA)
    • round pedestal dining table, $600 (Sherman Oaks CA)
    • set of four c1925 Stickley side chairs, $3600 (Las Vegas NV)
    • set of two contemporary Stickley spindle-back armchairs, $1300 (Del Mar CA)
    • contemporary glass-top Stickley coffee table, $250 (San Diego CA)
    • L & JG Stickley armless rocker, $500 (Portland OR)
    • another Stickley armless rocker, this one with new-ish leather seat, $250 (Portland OR)
    • Stickley Bros. rocker, needs minor repair, $225 (Tacoma WA)
    • drop-leaf Mission desk, $275 (Alameda CA)

  • Urban Archaeology: architectural salvage in New York City

    Urban Archaeology, with showrooms in Manhattan, Bridgehampton, Boston and Chicago, has been in the business of saving urban architectural treasures since they opened their Manhattan store in 1978.

    In addition to a large stock of salvaged materials, they have also developed their own line of lighting, bath accessories, washstands and medicine cabinets based on popular historic designs.

    As far as salvage goes, though, this is no scrapyard, but rather the highest end of the collectible architectural antique sellers.

  • Architectural Salvage V: Turning Trash Into Treasure

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    From Kaleena Cote at Yankee magazine comes this article on everyone's favorite weekend pastime, bargain-hunting at architectural salvage yards:

    Home salvage yards are like garage sales. Once you find that hidden treasure, the whole trip becomes worthwhile. For more than two decades, homeowners have searched for treasure at Vermont Salvage, an architectural Warehouse For Lease that has stores in White River Junction, Vermont, and Manchester, New Hampshire. Doors, windows, appliances – items that have outlived the houses and buildings they used to grace – fill each warehouse, much of it tagged with bargain prices.

    Bargains are what I’m after on a damp and dreary February afternoon as I drive up to the half-brick, half-concrete Vermont
    Salvage store in Manchester. Old toilets, tubs, and trash lie out in the yard, as well as a few abandoned vehicles and an old rusting trailer, while a few red spray-painted squiggles splatter the sides of the building. The place looks as if it needs to be salvaged itself.

    But inside, it’s easy to see why people enjoy searching through the rows of different colored doors, walking past the pastel pink and yellow toilets, and toying with the little trinkets ranging from outlet faces to small brass hooks for hanging clothes. The place has character, and the employees there are eager to please. They're not the in-your-face “buy this now” types of salesmen; they let the customers browse freely. At the same time, they're willing to help and offer suggestions. Just ask.

    Read the full article and see pictures at Yankee magazine’s site. They’ve also compiled a good list of New England salvage firms and shops, which follows the article.