I wanted to get up ‘early’ today to go to Home Depot before it started to… snow. So, I was delighted when I was awoken at 9:30 by a knock at the door. It surely had to be the mail carrier with my Milepost, and it was!
Off I went to Home Depot to return the sixth box of Allure. I also wanted to price lumber and supplies for my last few carpentry projects:
-dishwasher counter: need plywood for the interior divisions
-‘tunnel’ for the furnace duct: need plywood
-ladder for the loft: need 2’x4’s and something thinner for the rungs
-secret project: a small piece of paneling
-trim
I came home with:
sanded plywood (two pieces), perfect for the inside of a cabinet and creating a tunnel for a furnace duct
fancy hemlock trim in short pieces, perfect for a home with short walls (enough for the dressing room and the kitchen, at least)
a large piece of paneling, perfect for my secret project (and probably WAY more than I need)
pallets are made with solid wood held together with a few nails, perfect for making a ladder
You can probably see where I’m going with this. All these supplies cost me NOTHING. I pulled them out of a dumpster! Of course, I asked if I could do this and Home Depot was happy to have someone haul away their trash for them! There is absolutely nothing ‘wrong’ with anything I brought home, not even a speck of dirt on it. I have a huge piece of high-quality paneling in perfect condition, two big pieces of sanded 1/2″ plywood in perfect condition, and a hill of short pieces of high-quality fancy hemlock trim, plus the pallets!
I need more pallets for some other projects, but this was all I could safely carry home today, and the best of what was available in that dumpster. The other pallets were a bit grungy. I’ll check back at Home Depot in a few days to see if there’s anything new available to me. I’d love to find more of that trim!
I’m chomping at the bit get going with the dishwasher counter, but there is no way I can cut up the big piece of plywood in this weather, so I will go start on something else, maybe the trim or the loft ladder.
But before I do that, I’m going to watch the snow fall and melt as it hits the ground. Snow. After weeks of near tee-shirt weather. This place is strange.
That dumpster has been good to you! Don’t forget the one at Windsor Plywood as well.
Just a thought – 1) pull the MH out a bit, extend the awning and work under it. 2) pull the big blue tarp over the pergola and work under that. Of course neither of these will work in driving rain…
3) I could send Dave (who you met) an email and ask him or Justin to stop by to give you a hand with the cut. He would not mind at all.
This is my first time actually going IN the dumpster! Last time, there was an actual pile of lumber with a FREE sign next to it. This time, there was no signage and nothing lying around on the ground.
I haven’t forgotten the one at Windsor Plywood, thanks! 🙂
It’s way too cold to be making cuts outside, but good suggestions, except for the awning one. I have never opened Miranda’s awning because I have no idea how to do so. I have asked for help from many people, including some who have the same thing as mine, but no one has been willing to help. I’ve written off the awning; I’m pretty sure that it’s mouldy and useless by now.
I won’t need any help with the cut, but thanks. I’ve cut bigger pieces than this with less optimal tools! 😀
PS: They work for beer!
LOL, something we have in common. 😀
I’ve done a lot of dumpster diving to get boxes and packing material for shipping my animal head sculptures. I feel a double pleasure. I’m getting something for free and I’m reusing something so it doesn’t go directly to the dump.
We always pick up pallets to cut up for kindling wood. We heat mostly with firewood in the winter and I hate to actually buy wood when I can get it free.
I understand there are groups that pride themselves on the art of dumpster diving. Maybe they are on the web!
Keep warm, spring will be here soon.
Congratulations to you for recycling wood that someone was willing to dispose of.
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