Going "Green" To Save Some Green ($$)

I've never considered myself a "conservationist", but the more I dive into the whole renovation process, I'm realizing what a fun challenge it is. The idea here is to re-use as much as possible. And what I can't re-use, I'm making efforts to recycle. While I am glad that all of this is beneficial to the environment, I have to admit that the biggest motivation for me is saving money.

Re-use
One of the most obvious ways to save money on what will be a substantial project is to re-use as many things as I can throughout the remodeling process. In other words, why go out and buy something if I already own one of those somethings? Sure, if something is worn out beyond usefulness, or if it is plain ol' ugly, I'll get rid of it (although there is a better option than just tossing it in the dumpster -- more on that in a minute). But why throw away an existing window if I can restore and re-use it? Not only will I have a cool old historic window that matches the rest of those in the house, I will also have saved myself several hundred dollars to boot.

For example, there are three large windows in our dining room that will be taken out to open up an entry into the future kitchen addition. There is also a smaller window that will be removed to make a passage from the kitchen into the future butler's pantry (i.e., the current kitchen). If I were to throw away these windows and buy something of comparable quality (which would be tough to find), I would have to spend somewhere in the $3000 - $3600 range. High-quality windows are expensive, let me tell ya.

What we will do instead is re-use these windows. Our architect has already mentioned that she plans on using the three dining room windows in the future master bedroom addition. And the smaller window will replace an awkward circa 1959 window that, for reasons unknown, replaced an original window when the kitchen was remodeled many years ago by the previous owners. Reusing the windows (plus some others that I'll write about in a future blog) will save a LOT of green ($$).

There is another way to re-use items, even if I don't re-use them myself. Habitat For Humanity has something called the Habitat Re-store. It is a store where people can donate virtually any sort of building material or appliance that is in good enough shape to re-use -- doors, shutters, vanities, cabinets, light fixtures, appliances, windows, plumbing fixtures - you name it. Not only does it keep perfectly usable (albeit outdated) items out of the landfill, donors also can deduct the value of the item on their taxes as a charitable donation. These items are a great buy for people who own rental properties, or others who perhaps can't afford brand new items for their own home. And once in a while, you can come across a real treasure at the Habitat Restore. Several years ago, my wife bought a pair of large leaded-glass cabinet doors (probably from the 1920's) for only $12!! We've been storing them for years and now plan to use them when we build in a china hutch as part of our remodel.

In the cases where we can't re-use something, recycling is also a good option.

Recycle
I'll be the first to say that I am by no means a tree-hugger. However, I am discovering that recycling not only makes good use of resources, but it can also be a way to make back some of the money that we are spending on the remodeling. Anything that is metal is worth cash -- aluminum, steel, brass, copper, lead, etc.

You wouldn't think there's much steel in a traditional construction home, but it is amazing how many pounds of steel you can come up with when you start pulling nails. Honestly, we've just started scratching the surface of this remodeling project, but you wouldn't believe the number of nails and deck screws I've pulled/removed. Instead of throwing them away, I just started throwing them into a five-gallon pail. So far, I have filled two buckets, each of which weighed about eighty pounds. Then there were the bolts and brackets that held the deck joists to the posts -- probably another thirty pounds. Old pipes, old chains, old curtain rods, old shower pan, etc. To date, I've hauled 1000 pounds (literally) to the scrap yard.

The really good stuff, though, is copper and brass. Remember when I wrote about having the new electric service panel installed? I told the electrican to just leave the old wire and conduit. Just from the few feet of copper wire that carried power from the weatherhead above the electric meter to the old service panel, I got $24.50 from the scrap yard.

All together, my metal salvaging has earned me $100.25 so far (and we really have just barely started the remodeling). There will be several thousand pounds more steel when we remove the boiler, piping, and radiators.  And then there will be the old copper wire and plumbing that has yet to be replaced. Then there will be a few hundred pounds of aluminum when I get around to replacing the old storm windows with nice wooden ones.

The money I've made so far isn't such a big deal, but my choice is to either recoup a little on what I scrap, or pay the city to haul it off. It doesn't make much sense to me to pay someone to haul away something that has actual cash value.

Anyone have some old metal laying around that you'd like me to haul off for you? Anyone?