Think of it as architectural organ donation.
Without homeowners kindly allowing Habitat for Humanity to come into their soon-to-be-demolished or ripe-for-renovation houses, the movement's ReStores, which collect quality new and used building materials, wouldn't have much to sell, or generate much money to support the building program.
Since the December groundbreaking, I've been volunteering at a Habitat build site at 4200 Kingston Rd. in Scarborough and documenting my experiences, but I thought it important to look at the yang to construction's yin: the volunteer salvage crews.
Equally dedicated and hard-working, these men and women await each week's job list with anticipation. In an average week, an e-mail missive containing two or three operations goes out, says 33-year-old vice-president of salvage and ReStore operations, David Winn. For the week of May 7, for instance, there were three.
(Top) Volunteers dismantle cabinets, salvaging bits that can be resold at a steep discount. (below) ReStore’s retail outlet in east-end Toronto. (Dave LeBlanc)
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I decided to visit the one on Douglas Avenue since it seemed to offer the most variety. About to bite the proverbial biscuit for a much larger home, this small, early-1950s side-split was ripe for the picking, and when I arrived at 9:30 a.m., a crew of six was already pulling down the kitchen cabinets, and a lone volunteer was busying himself with liberating a toilet from its mooring in an upstairs bathroom.
Keith O'Reilly, a Habitat employee charged with driving the big truck in the driveway, took me around to show me what else might make the trip back to the store later that day: some unpainted oak baseboards and door trim looked good, as did a few light fixtures, and the washer and dryer in the basement. Often, he told me, they'll remove things that aren't on the scouting list if they feel it'll be sellable. It was decided that the average-quality flooring probably wouldn't come up without a struggle so it was best to leave it, and that the furnace — an older, mid-efficiency unit — wasn't worth taking either.
As I watched what Mr. O'Reilly called his "A-team," I was surprised at how fast a fully equipped kitchen could become an empty husk — about 90 minutes, give or take.
"If you were doing a kitchen reno, you'd have to pay the contractor to do what we're doing," said Howard Lee, decked out in a Roots sweatshirt and ripped jeans. "You call us, we do it; not only is it free, you get a tax receipt." In fact, as I spoke to each member of this dedicated crew — from retired mining and finance executives to a church minister and a Princess Margaret Hospital PhD — the one thing I kept wondering was why more people don't use Habitat for this service.
Good question, since everyone wins, including consumers who find good-quality merchandise priced at "20 to 60 per cent of retail," said Mr. Winn when I visited him the next day at the 5,000-square-foot ReStore on Bermondsey Road. (There are 30 ReStores across Ontario.)
Just over Mr. Winn's shoulder was the kitchen I'd watched come out, to be priced at somewhere between "five and six hundred bucks."
Prices are determined by a number of factors. Quality is key, of course, since a high-end kitchen will sell for much more than the ubiquitous almond-melamine-with-wood-trim affairs from the 1980s. But other factors, such as whether an item qualifies as a genuine antique, also play a role. Mr. Winn monitors "comparable vendors" such as the Door Store on Castlefield Avenue and Legacy Building Supplies in Cobourg to keep his prices on a par.
And speaking of doors, every shape and size imaginable was on offer, including a few with tantalizing hints of their past: A small brass plaque with "Grade six" graced one, while another simply had "119" in a very cool 1930s-era font. I wonder how many people knocked on that door during its former life in an old office or apartment building? Regardless, it was easy to imagine a new life in a hip downtown loft, doing double-duty as portal and conversation piece.
There were dozens of sinks, bathtubs, interesting light fixtures and appliances from Dacor and Jenn-Air scattered about, too, which gave me the impression that if I decided to visit three times a week, I'd see completely different stock each time.
"That's the excitement for a lot of people," confirms Mr. Winn, "and the frustration for others — people will come in and almost fight over stuff if they see it at the same time."
Perhaps, as more and more folks participate in architectural organ donation, the likelihood of fisticuffs breaking out at the ReStores will become less and less.
The ReStores
Toronto ReStores are located at 29 Bermondsey Road, in the Eglinton and Don Valley Parkway area, and 1120 Caledonia Rd. on Lawrence Avenue West between Dufferin and Keele streets.
Hours: Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursdays until 9 p.m.
Money raised at the two retail locations (a third opens in August) pays 100 per cent of Toronto Habitat for Humanity's administration costs, meaning your donation goes directly into the building of homes for families in need.
In addition to items salvaged by the volunteer crews, drive-up donations of "quality building materials" by private individuals are encouraged.
The Restores recently began featuring some of their items for sale on an online blog. Visit www.torontohabitat.on.ca for more information.
