I am considering starting an architectural salvage business. By which I mean, going through old houses that are going to be destroyed and buying things like fine wood carvings and doors and window frames, and then re-selling them to other people. Does this relate in some way to your book?
While you are waiting for an answer to your post from Ed, I’d just like to say that I am amazed at what people tear out and throw away from old houses. In DC you wouldn’t have to buy anything, you can dumpster dive at construction sites and find all kinds of vintage materials including radiators, wood trim, and doors among other components.
I’m in the midst of reading “The Barn House” and there are some references to architectural salvage of various kinds including outright theft of bricks from sites for desirable old brick; apparently that’s a long-standing Chicago area problem.
Here in the Atlanta area there used to be a place called “The Wrecking Bar” and that’s what they sold, all kinds of architectural salvage from old buildings. I don’t know if that’s a viable business today but I do suspect you’ll have lots of company to buy such things, they just don’t make 'em like that any more, that’s for sure.
Definitely. Architectural salvage is a huge business in Chicago. In the book I talk about a salvage house a few blocks from my house - it’s called Architectural Artifacts. The owner, Stuart, who is (or anyway was) a big Straight Dope fan, scours the Midwest looking for useful stuff he can extract from buildings that are being torn down. Happily there are fewer of these in Chicago than there used to be, but a lot of other towns aren’t so lucky. I went over to Architectural Artifacts when I first started working on the Barn House to get an insurance estimate on a couple mantelpieces that had been stolen from the house. Stuart invited me to look around - amazing place. I tell the story in the book and won’t reprise the whole thing here. But yes, architectural salvage is quite an industry and figures prominently in the book.
Old doors get me excited, and old bathroom fixtures too.
We have refinished a petite tub on paws, an original finish 40’s office door glass and wood both from an archie salvage place kalamazoo. At allegan antique market we picked up perfect crystal and brass doorsets, found little glass knobs for the new vanity we bought. And adopted a medicine chest in great shape, also must be c30/40’s, carefully packaged with its art deco-ish side lights (tall where am I gonna get replacements?), glass shelves (3!). Needs rewiring yet.
Yesterday I get Renovators catalog and see a bunch of the same stuff I see at Allegan antique markt
Skipped the old tin ceiling crap being sold, it’s hard to find in good shape. Just ordered a ceilings worth online, painted white in the ubiquitous oval and floral pressed pattern.
Two bathrooms almost done, at the same time, takes years!
Out here in the land of the boonies, salvaging is the preferring method of restoration. When my mom was redoing her house she wanted to keep the “old” feeling since it was built in the 1860’s that was hard to do on the cheap. What my parents did was watch for the well off buying old property and offering to supply the dumpster (usually my dads dump truck but sometimes an actual dumpster) and they would take it to our house where we would faithfully get out the real wood and other time true items while throwing out the rest. They never got turned down that I know of, and people that where just demolishing a house to build new saved themselves some money. There house wasn’t built to historical level of course, some modern pieces and parts, but overall my mom accomplished what she wanted.
On a more modern respect my neighbors garage is built entirely of old block salvaged from a school wing torn down a few summers ago. He offered to haul it all away which he did, then spent an awful long time cleaning the block. Now it is like a patchwork of colors, until he paints it. Did I mention we live in the boonies? 
How long ago was the Wrecking Bar around, Tuba?
Out here it is the theft of rocks, yes rocks. If you have an old rock wall, expect rocks to walk away.
Theres a big old store in Ypsilanti , Mi. that sells salvaged doors, and fixtures etc. They have so much stuff ,you can spend hours walking through it. It is not cheap to restore. They have been in business a long time.
Closed a couple of years ago, dammit.
I think she sold everything in it to someone out of state.
It was in this fabulous old building on Moreland that is getting trashed each and every day. I have to go past it when I go to Seed and Feed Marching Abominable rehearsals at the Little Five Points Community Center and it breaks my heart every time I see it.
Here’s a picture of the house when it was still a business:
http://www.atlantaga.gov/government/urbandesign_kriegshaberhouse.aspx
And here:
I’ve loved that house since I was a little kid.
Saw something on the former owner in the AJC a while back; she lives in a Neel Reid house in Druid Hills. Ain’t that Atlanta housing history all in a heap?
There is an amazing salvage yard in Baltimore called Second Chance:http://ww.secondchanceinc.org. It has just tons of period fixtures, doors, radiators, hardwood flooring, clawfoot tubs, etc. It’s right off 95 as you enter the city, so if you’re coming up from DC you can get in and out without getting any of that Orioles/Ravens taint on you (I kid).
What would I need to begin an architectural salvage business?
First of all, some support from my family. My father, maybe, as a partner, to get things rolling with the finances. I am, after all, 22 years old.
I would need to have the business officially licensed, which is not too difficult where I live.
I would need a storage space and work area. I already have this, or at least, my family does, and it’s not a huge space (it’s about the size of a large garage) but it would probably be adequate to get started.
I would need at least one heavy duty truck - it wouldn’t need to be brand new.
I would need to maintain a relationship with several of the local demolitions contractors and property managers. Not too difficult of a proposition, in a small town where I got drunk with the sons of half the contractors in town every weekend in high school.
The overhead cost is small and the potential returns are enormous - especially where I live, since there is a very active community of home-restorers and wealthy individuals interested in adding unique touches to their houses. It could be a good idea…
My great grandfather started the homestead house in 1913 , it was finished by my great uncle and my grandfather in 1916.
My grand father gave it to me 21 years ago
It is a bi level rock house with 18 inch walls the top level was still structurally sound. we replaced all the wooden window and door boxes and redid the roof .
The bottom level roof had collapsed and there had been some folks stealing rock from the rubble for years .
We have 3 rooms now liveable with only 2 more to go.
I am not sure if you would have to buy the homes but if they are slated for demo you would be doing them a favor. They take all the architectural features that they can. Sometimes a small thing is quite valuable ,like a wind vane.
An area like down town Detroit has a lot of old houses in various degrees of disrepair. It would be helpful to have access to a similar area near where you would locate.
Not just storage ,you would require some degree of expertize to determine what is valuable and how to price it.
That would be a pretty good business. It was featured on Dirty Jobs once and I think the owner said he occasionally did make a pretty good buck on some stuff he salvaged.