Joe Knows the Place to Go

Joe Knows the Place to Go

Several years ago, Joe Johnson returned to his home after being away on vacation. Opening the door, he heard the sound of water running—and he knew it couldn’t be good. A pipe had frozen and burst while he was away, ruining the cabinets, flooring, and walls in the kitchen and bathroom.  

Joe contacted his insurance company and received an initial assessment for repairs. But the relationship with his contractor eventually went sour. “Right now, I’m doing all the finishing myself because he skipped town on me.” 

At BBR’s Reuse Center, Joe found molding, flooring, cabinets, faucets, and a bathroom vanity, as well as smaller items such as cabinet pulls, pipes, and a kitchen faucet. “The Reuse Center is a gold mine,” he says. “It’s a place that you can come to get anything that you possibly need to remodel your home. That’s why I’m here.” 

Some of the materials in the Reuse Center have caught Joe’s eye because of their evident quality. “I saw a fireplace that’s all hand-carved mahogany wood. You can’t get someone to do that today. This is a good place to get stuff like that. Amazing stuff.” 

Joe advises shoppers to stop by frequently and to be flexible. “You want to be here periodically as time goes by to see what comes in,” he says. “Adapting is a good thing. You’ll find a lot of ideas just walking into this place. There’s new stuff, and there’s vintage. You’ve got to be flexible.” 

The environmental aspect of reusing materials is also appealing. “If you throw everything out in the trash, where will it go?” If something can be reused, “use it!”  

The Reuse Center “will contribute to people saving a lot of money, which is the way to go. That’s definitely something we need.”

Please consider making a financial contribution so we can help more people like Joe to repair, maintain, and improve their homes.