Is Getting Free construction Materials precisely Possible?
As strange as the belief may be to some, getting free construction materials for woodworking projects is not only possible, it's fairly common and relatively easy to do. It just requires a bit of imagination and tenacity. It can also be a fun thing to do with the family on the weekend. I'm obvious many of you are chuckling right about now, or maybe even laughing out loud. But it's true, and I can attest to this as I grew up doing exactly that. To put this into perspective, let's think where we are most likely to find free construction materials.
Sources for Getting Free construction Materials
This is where having an active imagination comes in handy, and one of the things that makes this a potentially fun family outing. Think about the industries in your area. Try to remember where you saw a industrial construction or a house being torn down. If you live in the country you're precisely in luck, because many farm construction have fallen into disrepair and are no longer in use. If you're looking to build a new orchad shed, old barns are a rich and abundant source for planking and some precisely practical hardware and other materials.
Watch for stable and barn sales. These are often plentiful sources for scrap lumber or other construction materials. You may have to spend a bit, but it won't cost close to what you'd pay for new materials. Involve the kids in this "game", and they'll feel like they're part of the project, and that their input has value. They often, as my siblings and I did, come up with the best and most creative ideas! Get the kids excited and complex and you may be surprised at the resources they learn about at school. Driving around looking for these freebies is a lot of fun.
A Real Life Example or Two
I must confess that although I grew up as a city slicker, I found my true liking when my family moved to a farm when I was 13. I precisely enjoyed farm animals, and raised cattle and chickens. I was always asking Dad for money for construction materials I needed for chicken coops, rabbit hutches, cattle sheds and other farm linked structures. My dad grew tired of handing over cash, but came up with the "game" I've previously described. The family got complex and we had many memorable experiences together searching for free construction materials.
One I remember vividly is when we drove past a farm and noticed a man pushing down some fairly nice, industrial chicken coops with a dozer. We approached him and discovered he intended to burn the piles of lumber. It didn't take much persuading to convince him to let us take off the lumber instead. It took some work for sure, but we harvested enough free construction material to build a whole of farm buildings, together with a brand "new" chicken coop. Once they had a new coat of paint, no one could ever tell we built them from re-purposed materials that we got for free!
Well let's get back to the city for a moment. I've also found plentiful supplies of free construction materials in shipyards and other industrial areas. Businesses often pile scrap lumber along the front of their properties with "free wood" signs attached. Sometimes it's usable, sometimes it's not, but it's always free. At the very least it makes great firewood. And the drives through the country and even the industrial areas are engaging and fun adventures for the family.
I hope these tales inspire you to get your family complex in your construction projects, and to save huge dollars in the process. It truly can be fun and rewarding, and yes, getting free construction materials is possible.
Copyright 2011, Arne James, All rights reserved
How to Get Free construction Materials
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