One of my favorite pastimes is heading to Urban Ore in Berkeley and wandering the aisles. Many times I go with notions in my head of a door that needs replacing, maybe shelving for the garage, or I take a friend with me who is in the midst of remodeling hell or just needs to do a little project. We dig through the staircase pieces to see if we can find legs for a tabletop, check out antique closet doors that won’t fall apart like today’s hollow-core aluminum cheapies, finger the glass knobs to find just the right one for the hallway door. My daughter recently bought 4 dining chairs (all different) for about $8/apiece, which we repaired, sanded, painted and recovered. There are all sorts of googaws and doodads that I don’t know the function of; there are retro chandeliers for that mid-century modern, sinks, cabinets, fireplace mantles. You name it, they probably have it. And they are not alone in their love of recycle/reuse. There are other such warehouses around the Bay:
Whole House Building & Salvage, 1955 Pulgas, East Palo Alto
Ohmega Salvage, 2400 San Pablo, Berkeley
East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse, 4695 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland
Berkeley Architectural Salvage, 1167 65th Street, Oakland
C&K Salvage, 718 Douglas, Oakland
A Bygone Era, 653 5th Street, Oakland
The ReUse People Recycle Bazaar, 9235 San Leandro Street
Oakland
Building Resources, 701 Amador Street, SF
This & That, 1701 Rumrill Road, San Pablo
Tell us where your favorite salvage yard is!
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