[RP TownTalk] affordable renovations for older homes

[Alan Thompson & Sarah Wayland]

I saw this posted on the HOPE mailing list and thought it would be of 
interest to some in the town.

-Sarah

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Message: 1
    Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2005 01:51:41 -0500
    From: "stuart eisenberg" <sweisenberg at covad.net>
Subject: Interesting new resource and organization

Thought folks would find this group interesting and useful to know 
about.

SE


       Please help spread the word -
       There is a brand new organization in the DC area that is 
interested
       in keeping historic assets out of the landfill, and making
       renovations more affordable for low-income residents.  Located in
       Edmonston, Community Forklift sells surplus, salvaged, and green
       building materials. I have pasted a press release below that 
explains
       more about our mission. You can also call us at 301-985-5182, or
       check out our website, www.communityforklift.com

       Hopefully, many of you will find us useful during renovations,
       either as a source of materials or a place to drop off re-
       usable items. Items that you can donate or purchase include:
       lumber, roofing, all types of flooring, concrete blocks and 
masonry,
       siding, paint, plumbing fixtures, working appliances, working 
light
       fixtures, windows, insulation, doors, cabinets, radiators, and
       decorative components like hardware, trim, mantels, shelving,
       mirrors, etc. Soon, we will also carry a line of new green 
building
       materials (Zero VOC paints, bamboo flooring, borate treated 
lumber,
       cotton insulation, etc.).

       Also, if you are interested in a volunteer activity, we definitely
       need help getting organized!  We could also use volunteers who are
       marketing professionals, bilinguals, or members of the building
       trades.

       LOCATION: 4671 Tanglewood Drive, Edmonston, MD 20781. Detailed
       directions are at www.communityforklift.com.

       HOURS: 8 am - 4 pm, Thursday - Saturday. Donations can be made at
       other times, but by appointment only. All donations are tax-
       deductible.

       Thanks, and hope to see you at the store!

       --Ruthie Mundell
       Community Forklift, LLC
       301-985-5182
       www.communityforklift.com

       Community Forklift, a surplus and salvaged building materials 
outlet
       with a community revitalizing mission recently opened its doors to
       the public. Community Forklift (CF) sells - at very affordable
       prices - reusable building materials obtained from a variety of
       sources, including the deconstruction of local houses and other
       buildings. Deconstruction is the manual disassembly of buildings
       targeted for demolition, and it generates a rich supply of 
recovered
       materials. In addition, under the auspices of CF's not-for-profit
       parent organization - Sustainable Community Initiatives - CF
       receives new, used, and otherwise recovered material donations 
from
       construction, renovation, and demolition contractors, facilities
       management companies, government agencies, hardware stores, and 
the
       general public.

       Community Forklift's 40,000 square foot facility is located at 
4671
       Tanglewood Drive in Edmonston, MD, well inside the Beltway near 
the
       border of Washington, D.C. It is located between Kenilworth Ave.
       (Rte. 201) and Baltimore Avenue (Alternative Rte. One) in Prince
       George's County, adjacent to Bladensburg and Hyattsville.

       Forklift President Jim Schulman explains: "The primary purpose of
       Community Forklift is to sell high-quality, low-cost construction
       materials to provide area contractors and residents with supplies 
of
       affordable building materials for construction and renovation
       projects, and in doing that, the enterprise will also save
       construction and demolition contractors' money by reducing 
disposal
       costs. The store will divert good reusable materials from going to
       waste, while fostering community revitalization and renovation
       activity. We see it as a community asset - economically,
       environmentally, and socially. We'll create new jobs in our store,
       but we'll also help create jobs in the salvage and deconstruction
       industries by providing a place to sell all these recovered
       materials."

       The Washington, DC office of The Institute for Local 
Self-Reliance,
       a solid waste think tank, has published research documenting that
       more than 100 new "reuse stores" opened up between 1998 and 2002 
to
       broker and resell building stock elements diverted from landfills.
       Estimated to total over 200 stores, sales in this new market 
sector
       were estimated at $70 million per year, and some stores are
       experiencing sales growth of 50% a year. The U.S. Environmental
       Protection Agency estimates that current diversion and recovery
       efforts for used building materials are capturing only 3-5 percent
       of potential stock.

       Community Forklift is wholly owned by the nonprofit Sustainable
       Community Initiatives (SCI). SCI Chair Larry Martin describes
       Community Forklift as: "a business for the 21st Century. SCI's
       mission is to advance sustainability in the region, and this is a
       hands-on example of what we mean by that - creating employment,
       reducing waste, and promoting the use of affordable and
       environmentally-friendly building materials."