Dark side of architectural salvage?

[Lynners]

I suspect that someone went in and raided the shades on all of the lights that were in our house. The house was vacant for a few months before we bought it, and the seller (who is a family friend) mentioned to us that he had seen the front door open one day. From then on he parked a truck he wasn't using in the driveway!

All of the original bases are there, but not a single shade in the house.

[eclecticcottage]

I don't think you'll ever know where something came from if you're buying used, garage sale, ebay or shop. I would try to stick with reputable architectural salvage places or watch CL for people that are demoing a house. You could try asking about the history of the piece you find to see how the seller reacts. Someone with a real passion for it will more than likely remember at least something about where they got it from.

I've got a pretty eclectic mix of furnishings in the Cottage and several pre 1930's pieces were "curbside finds". Our dining room table came from an architectural salvage place that had gone under and was bought out by a group converting it into an artists loft type place and clearing out the "junk". I'm hoping to get paneling to match what's in the living room from a guy on CL that's doing a remodel. I got a great old door knob from a door someone was throwing away (the door was beyond saving) and some beautiful panel doors from an estate (the Po had removed them MANY years prior and replaced them with slab style doors and they didn't want to put them back in, as the doorways had been changed to fit the "new" doors). I also got some old panel doors from the "trash".

I missed an opportunity to salvage some pieces from a cottage down the street and I'm still kicking myself a year later. If I had only known it was going to be torn down I would have contacted the owners. Great old farmhouse sink, some fixtures, a built in corner cabinet...oh well. I think it all went into the dumpster-I only know it was in there because we looked at it when it was for sale and the buyers that demoed it beat us to an offer.

A big old victorian that's in the same town was salvaged about two years ago before they tore it down, we saw the company there doing the work.

We actually talked about starting a a salvage company when we were looking at a place with several large barns. That deal never materialized, but I still can't help myself from rescuing treasures from the side of the road and either keeping them or rehoming them. While I'm sure there are ill gotten pieces out there, I'd prefer to think most aren't.

[lovesickest]

Again -- there is this quandry. I managed to purchase a complete marble mantelpiece including the cast iron surround and summer grill cover for $ 300.00 from Craigslist (they had originally posted the price as $ 100.00! but I guess my immediate call and poorly disguised enthusiasm tipped them off):

marble mantel.jpg (5.39 KiB) Viewed 447 times

It came out of a house that had been purchased by some flippers I can only describe as malevolent and beyond ignorant. They were lowering the ceilings(original plaster molding was ornate and in good shape) in a two and 1/2 story victorian house to create a third story so there would be more room for another apartment unit. This was in a house that was intact and complete that they were absolutely slaughtering. Their crew and the owner all had Chinese mafia tattoos (not to be confused with contemporary Japanese style tattoos or asian symbol calligraphy/kanji) -- these people had hard core crime connections and crime money -- and no respect for history !

Was the right thing to do:
a)refuse to deal with unethical criminals with no sense of history ?
b)give them a one hour lecture on the value of historical preservation ?
c) pay them cash and take the mantel and run ?

I have to say that I did not feel comfortable with these people at all -- but I had also been looking for a complete mantel that was sympathetic to what was missing from my house. I had seen an identical mantel, without the cast iron parts at the local Habitat for Humanity store for $ 3,500.00 -- so I knew this was a steal.

I think that sometimes we DO wind up supporting people or businesses that may be in conflict with our ethics -- which raises other questions. Another example: I thrift shop all the time, including at the local Salvation Army. The Salvation Army has had a pretty negative history with regards to publicly stated homophobic beliefs within their church. This makes me very uncomfortable ! BUT -- the staff there has always been kind and helpful, and has employed the same people for years, including some staff that could be regarded as otherwise unemployable. This location also seems to have community outreach with the homeless, etc. So -- are they good or bad ? Where do we draw the line ? When do we draw this line ?

[JRC]

In your case, you were dealing with people (admittedly shady in character) who were working within the law. They owned the house they were butchering.

In Youngstown, our neighborhoods are continuing to be "mined" for salvage. (whether architectural, or metal scrap) And, even if I indirectly support this business, I would--in a small way--be encouraging more destruction.

I talked with my co-worker about the dealer he gave me the contact info for. He says that the dealer gets most of his stuff through auctions, estate sales, etc. So, that doesn't exactly help my comfort level. This dealer is probably on the up-and-up. But, the items (the ones bought at auction, anyway) might have switched hands many times before he got them.

[mross_pitt]

check out Construction Junction (http://www.constructionjunction.org/

Doors are about the only thing priced nicely at Construction Junction. Otherwise, they sell a lot of broken/damaged mediocre things that look like they have been buried for 20 years, yet they cost more than they would cost at an antique store in good shape. A plain old brass doorknob costs more than the door. They do occasionally have some oversized things in the shop that are deals you can't find elsewhere.


That's another end of the architectural salvage spectrum where "non profits" are charging more than antique stores and the money is surely going somewhere.

[pqtex]

Here's one I never thought of...

I live about 87 miles from Galveston, Texas. The Galveston Historical Foundation (GHF) operates an architectural salvage warehouse, which I have visited once. I recently emailed to ask if they had any 8' porch columns in stock for my 1913 home in Beaumont. Here is the answer I received...

I'm sorry but we have a policy of not selling items to leave the Island. This comes back to GHF's mission to preserve the architecture of Galveston. We allow some basic items to leave the Island such as window sashes or other non-high style features but porch posts are too high on the list of items needed on the Island.

The answer definitely surprised me...and was a disappointment...but I admire their focus in maintaining the history and preserving the architectural treasures.

[matt8667]

yes quite the moral quandry. I would not buy from shady types. But if i passed a house taped up with a bulldozer in the front yard, the temptation may be there,lol