After months of declines, lumber prices are rising again and are expected to continue increasing into the next year. According to Zillow’s predicted home trends for the new year, 2022 will be the year to remodel with nearly three-fourths considering at least one project like a home office space, finishing a basement, or adding another room. Additionally, reclaimed and recycled materials will reign supreme in 2022 as sustainability and climate change have become prominent issues in recent years.
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With the influx of new-home construction, inflation and global supply chain disruption, the rising demand for building materials might set your home renovation project back several months and potentially cost thousands of dollars more than originally planned.
One of the ways to avoid the steep costs and delays while being sustainable when remodeling your home is building material reuse. Using affordable, gently salvaged building materials that are 50-80% off retail is a great option for renovation projects. Stardust Building Material Reuse Centers have everything from countertops, cabinets, appliances, lighting fixtures and more all in stock and ready for your remodel project. Stardust, the only local building material reuse nonprofit organization in Metro Phoenix operates reuse centers in Mesa and Glendale. Shopping Stardust offers some tried-and-true ways to keep remodeling costs under control including:
• Avoid the record- breaking, skyrocketing prices of lumber, which will not be going away any time soon, and purchase reclaimed materials such as cabinets, for example. Give the cabinets a simple facelift with a fresh coat of paint and new hardware and you have a brand new set.
• Adopt a DIY approach proves that not all remodeling projects require experts or contractors to complete them. In addition, there is no doubt that doing it yourself is creative and budget-friendly. Some easy DIY projects include kitchen backsplashes, painting, flooring, changing out lighting fixtures, and drywall and can be done with materials purchased from Stardust.
• Be open to different options for materials. Ceramic or Natural stone may be your preferred flooring but it can be expensive. To save money, consider using reclaimed stone, wood or other flooring material that may be available instead of purchasing new. Buying salvaged items locally and reducing the supply chain is a more sustainable approach. It also brings character, charm and history to the space.
Purchasing salvaged and reclaimed materials is the best way to keep remodeling costs low while helping to reduce landfill waste. Additionally, shopping local and using regional suppliers are also a great way to reduce your carbon footprint as you spruce up your home.
Stardust offers a low cost deconstruction service as well, which is one more way to save thousands on your remodeling project. This service is an environmentally conscious alternative to demolition that helps protect the environment by diverting usable materials from piling up in the landfills and provides the community with high quality materials available for reuse.
Karen Jayne is CEO of Stardust. Founded in 1997, Stardust is a non-profit organization that operates two reuse centers for home improvement which sell gently-used, salvaged and surplus building materials at affordable prices. Stardust sees a future without waste; a sustainable community where resources are redistributed and reused. Since 1997, Stardust has diverted nearly 90 million pounds of usable building materials from the landfill, served over one million customers, and Stardust’s Gifts In Kind program has provided over $50 million of household items to hundreds of nonprofit organizations and their clients. For more information, call (480)269-8601.
