I was chatting with my neighbor while I was working, and he mentioned that he often goes to construction sites at the end of the day to ask for their leftover scraps. He's managed to score a ton of wood this way, even some nice redwood planks! I'm curious if anyone else does this or has tips for snagging some useful scraps without stepping on any toes.
3 Answers
As a builder, I can tell you that if you connect with the guys working on high-end residential jobs, you might find some real treasures like oak, poplar, or even rough-sawn beams. It helps to know someone because they usually keep the good stuff.
Hitting up woodworking shops for scraps is a good idea! They often have tons of offcuts that they'll happily give away. You'll score some nice hardwood instead of just regular construction lumber. Plus, it's less waste!
Back in the day, my friends and I would build forts with scrap we found at construction sites. The workers would point us to the scrap piles and let us take what we wanted. Such a fun way to repurpose wood!
Same here! We lived near a neighborhood under construction and would dumpster dive for materials to build our tree forts. Best childhood memories!
That sounds great! But where exactly do I find these woodworking shops? Nothing like that is around my area.