The ReUse People - December 2005 NEWSLETTER

Seattle's "Sensible House"
By Ted Reiff

Last month I wrote about my trip to St. Louis and the incredible City Museum, an educational playground of creatively reused building materials. This month, I’d like to introduce you to an exemplary residential reuse project. 

The Sensible House Project
When I was in Seattle this month I visited Bob Scheulen and Kim Wells and had the pleasure of touring their award-winning "Sensible House." Bob and I have been corresponding since last September when I first began researching Seattle as a TRP expansion site. I was introduced to Bob telephonically and we struck up a friendship.

Bob and Kim’s new home is in an older section of Seattle and replaces a small, 900 square-foot cottage. The couple were committed to building green from the beginning, and their new home not only uses many cutting-edge green products and techniques, it also contains numerous reclaimed items from the original cottage. 

Some materials are remilled or remanufactured, like the beautiful fir trim throughout the house, Australian hardwood flooring and bleacher-board seats used as stair treads.  However, from the old house they reclaimed and reused 350 square feet of oak flooring, several doors, hundreds of 2x4 fir studs and bricks. Bob even set aside scraps of lumber from the deconstruction of the cottage to build a shoe cabinet, bath vanity, coat rack, bookcase, wainscoting, and miscellaneous shelving. When his neighbor had her front sidewalk replaced, he convinced the contractor to put the pieces of broken concrete in his yard so that he could use them to create a walkway. Talk about dumpster diving -- these ingenious folks can really scrounge!

My words can't do justice to this absolutely terrific project, so I recommend you visit www.sensiblehouse.org and see for yourself what Bob and Kim have accomplished. Here's a quote from the site that sums up their approach:

"We don't call it an environmental house, because it's about people too. If we only cared about the environment, we'd live in a tent. Instead, it's about reducing environmental impact and getting a better house in the process, and that's why we call it 'The Sensible House.'"

New Inventory

Gardeners Alert! We're starting spring a little early this year, with great prices on brand new garden tools and four sizes of plastic pots.

Special of the Month

Save on countertops two ways! Purchase one countertop at the regular price and get a second countertop of equal or smaller size at no cost -- or receive 30% off on the countertop of your choice through January 15, 2006.

Friends of TRP

Join Friends of TRP at either the Oak ($25 annually) or the Mahogany ($100 annually) level. In addition to helping TRP achieve its mission, you'll receive discounts on used building materials, be entered in our quarterly drawing for a $100 gift certificate, and other benefits.

THIRD QUARTER WINNER: Jim Kuo of Oakland is the current winner of the Friends of TRP drawing for a $100 gift certificate.

Click here to access the TRP membership form. Print the form and mail it to TRP with your donation. Thank you!

Remember, as a Friend of TRP you receive two discounts - the discount on the special of the month plus you don't pay sales tax.

KATRINA RELIEF FUND: All memberships received or renewed between now and the end of 2005 will be donated to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Thank you!

TRP is Looking for a few Good People

Go to our website www.thereusepeople.org, click on the tab "Opportunities" and look under the heading "Employment Opportunities"

Deconstruction & New Materials Update

The Alameda ReUse Bazaar we will receive:

• All materials from a custom Saratoga ranch home, including a beautiful entry door with stained glass, white aluminum dual glazed windows, paneled interior doors, hardwood flooring and a like-new Jacuzzi bathtub.

IIn Los Angeles, the Habitat for Humanity Home Improvement Store will receive:

• Hardwood floors, 1,400 clay "C" roof tiles, French doors and modular kitchen cabinetry from a Spanish style Santa Monica home.

Location and Contact Information

TRP ReUse Bazaar
2100 Ferry Point, #150
Alameda, CA 94501
(510) 522-2722; toll-free 888-588-9490
Hours: Mon through Fri 10:00 to 6:00; Sat and Sun 10:00 to 4:00

Please visit our partnering warehouses in the greater Los Angeles area:

Habitat Home Improvement Store
17700 S. Figueroa (corner of 182nd), Gardena/Carson CA 90248
(310)-323-5665
Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 6: 00 p.m.

Silver Lake Yards
1086 Manzanita Street
Silver Lake, CA 90026
(323) 667-2875
Hours: Friday, Saturday & Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. by appointment
Directions: Manzanita Street crosses Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake. Go south 1 short block and turn right just before Santa Monica Boulevard.