Go Green And Go Home Awesome Salvage Sale

At this one-day warehouse sale, architectural salvage is beautiful, sustainable and cheap.

In Vancouver recycling is part of daily life. Reusing, on the other hand, doesn’t always come so naturally, particularly when it comes to old buildings. The Vancouver Heritage Foundation is aiming to change that, pointing out that reusing an old building is a literally huge form of recycling, the greenest building materials are both renewable (like wood) and used, and old house parts are often better made and higher quality than comparable new ones.

Reusing Just Got A Lot Easier

To make reusing easier, this coming Saturday, May 14, the heritage foundation is holding a warehouse sale of vintage house parts and furniture dating from the 1860s to the 1960s. Everything for this event has been donated, and along with standard architectural salvage like doors, door knobs, windows, sinks and flooring, are more unusual treasures including cast iron fireplace inserts from Mole Hill homes; concrete balustrades from the original Hotel Georgia built in 1927 that would make stunning accents in a garden; and handcrafted porcelain electric insulators that could hold plants or flowers.

From his private collection, event consultant Robert McNutt of Architectural Antiques has donated rare objects that include a vintage bathroom scale and a 1912 gramophone holder that looks like a baby grand piano. He will also be on hand to give historical and restoration advice.

Not Just For Heritage Buffs

Elana Zysblat, programming director of the Vancouver Heritage Foundation, says this year’s event will feature an “idea wall” where visitors can get (and give) repurposing tips such as, for example, how to turn a beautiful old door into a headboard. “I want this sale not just to be for heritage buffs,” she says, “but for someone who has a Yaletown condo to come and say, ‘I’m going to buy three window sashes with diamond patterns and I’m just going to hang them on my white wall.’”

Zysblat says all of the items are priced well below what they would cost at a commercial salvage yard or on Craigslist. “We really want to sell. We want to encourage people to take these items and feel, ‘I’ve paid pretty much for the value of the materials so now I can spend my time stripping or making it into a picture frame or putting legs on it.’”—Felicity Stone
The Architectural Salvage Sale is Saturday, May 14, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., 7011 Elmbridge Way (at Gilbert) in Richmond (unit 115). www.vancouverheritagefoundation.org