Recycling has become a popular and necessary trend, but it need not simply constitute a bi-monthly trip to the bottle bank. New houses or conversions may be built using demolition salvage and fitted out with architectural antiques to add instant character.

Not only is using recycled materials in your building project environmentally sound and eminently fashionable, it can often save money and create the kind of unique fixtures and finishes which give a house that certain wow factor. Salvaged items are frequently of superior quality to modern equivalents, and give a new house an instant aged effect which no amount of ‘distressing’ can achieve.

They are invaluable for renovation projects, especially if you need to match a broken piece, but there is a busy traffic in stolen items. Currently there is an almost endless source of both demolition and architectural salvage, but it’s important to know exactly what you are buying and what to avoid – particularly if you’re considering spending a significant sum of your budget on large quantities of salvaged materials such as bricks or roof tiles.

PLANNING AHEAD

It’s important to include salvaged building materials at an early stage in the design process because recycled goods don’t usually come in standard shapes or metric sizes. The building often has to be adapted to fit the salvage, rather than vice versa, and what may have been satisfactory in Victorian times might not be acceptable to the modern day building inspector

Staircases are a good example, and may need adapting to meet current building regulations regarding the gap between treads or balusters. Most old doors won’t be exactly rectangular, so it’s important to measure all the sides carefully to check they will fit. It’s always better to buy one a little too large for the frame and then plane or cut it down as required.

SOURCING

Much of the reclamation industry is generally set up to meet the needs of homeowners and small to medium-sized builders. To stock up enough reclaimed materials can take months, especially for grander projects. Some reclamation yards may be able to store the materials prior to selling, others may not.

Reclamation yards sell everything from period sanitaryware and chimney pots to church pews and door knobs. In the past such places offered bargains galore, but with a growing interest in architectural antiques, our national love of all things traditional, and a burgeoning awareness of just how much money such items can fetch, you may be shocked at some of the prices!

Reclamation yards stock both salvaged materials and architectural antiques, whilst architectural antiques yards may stock new replicas as well as cleaned up salvage, for which you will pay a premium. Architectural salvage (the antiques element of demolition salvage) is an evolving trade primarily concerned with interior fittings, joinery, reclaimed ironwork, glass, flooring and garden furniture.

Traditionally, salvage yards deal in raw, recycled goods which usually need to be cleaned or repaired. Prices are rarely displayed in reclamation yards, and it’s important to have a rough idea of an item’s value and to be prepared to haggle.
Newspapers – especially the local ‘free ad’ style papers – auctions and even recycling centres or tips are also worth checking out, but remember that with private sellers you often have no idea from where the items originated.  If you are aware of a building being demolished there’s no reason why you can’t approach the owner and try to negotiate a private deal. This can be an economical way to purchase large amounts of building materials like floorboards or stone. Remember to add on the cost of arranging transport and to allow time for cleaning and preparation, as well as a percentage of wastage for broken or substandard materials.
It’s not a good idea to try to save money on delivery by using your own car for extremely heavy loads – the resulting hefty garage bill may be far higher than the cost of renting more suitable transport for half a day!

PREPARATION

Cleaning old materials can be a time-consuming business and needs a degree of understanding. Stripping paint from old doors might seem a simple task, but lead paint can be potentially hazardous. Always wear suitable protective clothing and read the labels when applying paint strippers, primers, timber preservative or hydrochloric acid. And be prepared for some surprises when the paint is removed!

When buying period tiles make sure there are enough for the job and allow for breakages. Check for chips and cracks and that colours match. Tiles should be free from adhesive and grout, as removing this can cause damage.

Restoring and re-using original cast iron baths and sanitaryware is a popular method of adding some instant character to a bathroom, although builders often break up potentially valuable cast iron baths in situ because they are difficult to remove whole from buildings they are renovating. Many companies offer a re-enamelling service, with roll-top baths ranging in price from a few hundred to several thousand pounds.

Such baths weigh a great deal, so ensure your bathroom floor is reinforced to withstand the additional load and check that any sanitaryware will work with modern plumbing fittings (the same applies to radiators).  If not, it may be best to buy good quality reproductions made to original casts.

BUILDING

Some building companies and architects specialise in incorporating reclaimed building materials in house designs, and will often undertake the legwork of sourcing materials on your behalf. Others are unhappy about the additional work involved in using irregularly-shaped reclaimed materials, so it is important if you’re intending to build in this way that your builder is made aware of the fact from the outset and prices the work accordingly.

If you are using reclaimed materials for renovation work then try to stick to traditional building methods, and remember that if you use modern cement with reclaimed bricks you are effectively ending their life as they cannot easily be recycled again.
A wide range of reclaimed materials are suitable for use in the garden: brick and flagstones for paths, railings and gates for boundaries, and even old Belfast sinks as planters. Antique and salvaged garden statuary, such as sundials, garden seats and urns are also in plentiful supply – but take photographs of such objects and scratch your postcode on a hidden part, as thefts of garden items are rife.

THE ENVIRONMENT

Even when they are sourced from far away, reclaimed materials are still the most environmentally friendly option for supplying materials to the building industry. Substitution of a few well chosen, locally sourced reclaimed materials can significantly reduce the environmental impact and the embodied carbon of a project.
These savings can sometimes be achieved with little or no additional expense, making reclaimed items an extremely cost-effective way of cutting carbon emissions. With imagination and creative design the opportunities to incorporate reclaimed materials into building projects are wide and diverse.

USING THE INTERNET

Some companies specialise in particular items, and the internet is a good source of information. Materials such as reclaimed roof slates are often less expensive than new, and are available from companies such as Coleman Roofing Supplies (www.colemanroofing.co.uk), and Reclaimed Bricks (www.reclaimedbricks.com) which offers a free brick matching service ideal for those extending a period building.
eBay (www.ebay.co.uk) is becoming a popular source of second-hand items for the home, and other websites such as www.whatdoidowiththis.com,

www.salvomie.co.uk and www.freecycle.org list low value and free items.
SalvoWeb (www.salvo.co.uk) is a comprehensive website run by the organisation Salvo, which has been providing information on antique and reclaimed materials since 1992, including demolition alerts. Restoration & Beyond (www.restorationandbeyond.co.uk) is an online store for self build and period homes which offers everything from lime mortar to works of art and is a specialist in new build and restoration.