With the high cost of quality lumber and reduced availability of good wood materials for building, Heritage Salvage in Petaluma is an excellent resource for recycled and salvaged building materials. Not only is salvaged lumber a more environmentally friendly option for exterior wood installations like fences, often you can find unique material that has more character than newly milled lumber. The other advantage to using salvaged material is finding sizes and dimensions of lumber no longer available. Their website has a good overview of current stock, and their yard is definitely worth a visit.

Will salvaged lumber be cheaper than building your project with new material? It depends on the application and how much treatment and labor is required for the particular project. In many cases though, salvaged lumber makes good aesthetic, environmental and financial sense.