Western New York's Largest Supplier of Reclaimed & Surplus Building Material

Month: January 2012

February workshops!

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Announcing TWO workshops for the month of February… Make a Picture Frame Tuesday February 7th 6-9pm Rusted Grain, 1212 Jefferson Ave Bring a picture and build a frame for it using all reclaimed wood! Suggested donation. Making Birdhouses for Gilda’s Club Monday February 20th 6-9pm Rusted Grain, 1212 Jefferson Avenue Every year Gilda’s Club has a spring fundraiser in which they auction off birdhouses which are decorated by club members as well as local artists.  This year Rusted Grain has committed to building several birdhouses in addition to teaching a workshop for anyone who wants to donate time to a … Read more

People ask us . . . Why Do You Do What You Do?

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From our About page: Question: People ask us . . . Why Do You Do What You Do? (WDYDWYD?) Answer 1: Jobs! We’re committed to creating local and green jobs for the Buffalo community. More importantly, we feel these jobs should leverage the waste in our society to create opportunity. We’re interested in a critical analysis of our economy to identify wasteful business practices that damage our communities and our environment, and opportunities that exist for new ventures. We’re determined to find solutions and to implement alternatives that put people to work. Answer 2: Innovation! As we look at the … Read more

Saving the Country Club!

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ReUse Action’s Restoration crew began a project to save this “Country Club”, built in the 80’s and greatly in danger of being lost.  The building boasts huge timbers and locally milled hemlock lumber. Unfortunately, years of neglect has resulted in severe deterioration to the southwest wall. It’s our hope the new owner will be able to provide the necessary push to get this building to the point where it can be utilized and appreciated for years to come. Here are some initial photos of the building it was found Friday. The top photo shows the building, completely finished with locally … Read more

ReCycle Your Kitchen . . . and we’ll take all the debris too!

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Between Christmas and New Years ReUse Action took on a kitchen demolition for the Phillips Family on Lafayette in the City of Buffalo.  Kitchens are one of the most specialized and individualized rooms in a house.  Often the kitchen is the first room to be renovated by new home owners, because of the diverse tastes of folks and because they’re such high use areas.  So, lots of cabinets get removed and many end up on the curb and in the waste stream. Brandon and I, with the determined support of the homeowner, took on the task!  We carefully removed all … Read more

Wood Sash Windows – Why Rebuild? Why Not Buy Vinyl?

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ReUse Action is now repairing and rebuilding wooden sash windows. We offer services from re-glazing, glass replacement to full reconstruction from scratch. Give us a call if you’d like to know more. Why not simply replace with vinyl windows? Most energy research shows that leaky windows are responsible for most of the heat loss in our houses. This is a difficult subject to find objective facts about because the replacement window industry overwhelmingly dominates the discussion. A typical vinyl window advertisement highlights the following: 1. Low-U (or high-R) value of the gas-filled double pane glass 2. Low-E glass 3. Maintenance-free, … Read more

Don’t Buy New, ReDo!

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With this article, we’re announcing the latest ReUse Action service: Wood Window Rehabilitation. We can give free estimates and do whole house restoration of wood windows. Before you buy new, give ReUse Action a try. Call us today for an evaluation of your project. Stay tuned for more articles on energy-saving renovations. ReUse Action can help you make your home warmer this winter, while still retaining all the character of the “old-fashioned” double hung sashes that came with your house when it was built. Most Buffalo homes were equipped with wooden (usually pine) double hung sash windows. These can be … Read more

A ReUse Resolution . . .

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In 2012, we resolve to keep more reusable materials out of the landfill, than ever before . . . You can help – call the ReUse Action TIP line, whenever you see building materials heading for the curb, OR if you know of a building project that will be tearing out the old, to make way for the new, OR you know of a pending demolition . . . WE WANT TO KNOW.  CALL 716-884-DEMO (3366) or EMAIL tip@reuseaction.com. If you think it’s urgent (and it often is), you can also TEXT A TIP directly to Michael at 716-949-0900. Everyone … Read more

Back from the mill!

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Last week we took a shipment of 2x lumber stock to a mill in Arcade, NY Brauen Custom Millwork.  It is very exciting to be able to track the life of this wood–from where the lumber came from to how it was processed and finally to the end product.  This lumber came from the demolition of the John Deere Factory in Syracuse, NY, was tracked and coded by D-Build, brought back to Buffalo by the Green Demo Team to Action HQ, shipped to the mill, and is now being used in Rusted Grain’s woodshop.  We will be using this lumber … Read more