The word "recycle" usually conjures up images of blue boxes piled with newspapers, glass and metal cans.
But some folks who hate to waste are beginning to recycle entire houses - to the delight of non-profit societies and the people who buy and reuse the materials.
Linda Furney estimates she saved $10,000 in her recent home renovation by reusing building materials instead of buying new.
She recently bought a house that needed renovations to accommodate the scooter she uses to get around due to multiple sclerosis. She had to widen 30 doorways, put in ramps to get in and out of the house and make other improvements.
To stretch her dollar, Furney bought the bulk of her building materials from ReStore, a new and used building-supply store. It's located at 849 Orono Ave. in Langford and run by the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity.
All of the materials at ReStore are donated, so the chances of finding 30 matching doors at one time, for example, are slim.
"I went shopping with a vision of what I wanted but with three criteria," said Furney, 55.
"It had to address accessibility, energy efficiency and, lastly, be interesting."
While the first two criteria are fairly straightforward, Furney said she enjoyed the challenge of reimagining recycled materials.
"You can't go in the store and say: 'I want X.' You have to use your imagination."
Examples of what she was able to create from the materials she found in her twice-a-week shopping forays include a display case made out of kitchen cabinet glass doors and bi-fold doors that found new life as a room divider.
She was lucky to find a full set of kitchen cabinets.
"I estimate I saved about $10,000 on a $15,000 to $20,000 renovation by going this route," she said. "The savings enhanced what I was able to do with the money I had."
The ReStore is like a cross between a typical home-improvement store and a thrift store. In-stock items include windows, doors, paint, hardware, lighting fixtures, plumbing, appliances and, of course, the kitchen sink.
"If we can resell it, we will be happy to take it," said Yolanda Meijer, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Victoria, who runs the store.
"People can either bring it in or, in the case of whole kitchens, we will pick them up for free and issue a tax receipt for what we think we can sell it for. In the process, we keep the items out of the landfill."
Meijer said there are items, such as used carpeting and underlay, that the store won't regularly take.
At other times, it might turn away items that are slow to sell and take up a lot of room, such as bath tubs. A list of accepted items is on the store's website (habitat victoria.com/the-restore).
But not all items are used. Up to 30 per cent of the store's inventory is new. The items come from large retailers such as Home Depot and Rona as well as smaller stores. Typically, the items are discontinued lines or returns.
The store also receives contributions from a number of builders and contractors. Often, at the end of a project, the contractor might bring to the store some leftover materials that cannot be returned to the original retail outlet or old fixtures removed as part of the renovation.
As well as buying from ReStore, Furney donated 30 "perfectly good" doors she removed during her renovation.
Some homeowners have even offered to donate a whole house - as long as somebody came to deconstruct the structure. Unfortunately, at this time the local store can only pick-up material, not physically remove them from a house, Meijer said.
To illustrate the scope of its inventory, the ReStore in Regina last year constructed a house almost entirely from reused and recycled materials.
"It was so cool," recalled Meijer. "The ceiling of the whole house was a mosaic of kitchen cabinet doors."
The ReStore also accepts furniture and a range of specialty items. It recently had an electronic bidet (snapped up by Furney) and a charger for electric cars.
Furney is happy with her savings and the final results of her project.
"The renovation turned out to be a lot of fun," she said. "It just required a shift in thinking."
