Home Depot discounts

While I generally prefer salvaged building materials and small community hardware stores,  it is sometimes more efficient and cost effective to shop at large "home improvement" stores like Home Depot, Lowe's and Calif.-based Orchard Supply. I seem to gravitate towards Home Depot because of familiarity and large product selection, and I simply accept that I'm on my own there unless I can somehow abduct one of those evasive orange-festooned employees.

Still, the bill can add up quickly at Home Depot, so any type of discount is welcome. The "Pro Rewards" discount program is targeted at contractors, although anyone can enroll in one of the stores. The discount ranges from 0% to 3% depending on annual spending (once you reach a certain tier you remain at that discount level indefinitely until your annual spending bumps you to a higher tier), and you get access to a secure customer portal that appears to be a convenient way to track projects and transactions. In addition, you can submit any project over $2,500 to their Pro Desk for a volume pricing quote (I haven't done this yet, but plan to try it).

I have to confess that the growing number of frequent customer programs, from airlines to sandwich shops, can be overwhelming and sometimes of dubious value. However, for anyone undertaking even a moderate building or renovation project, the savings for programs such as this one can be nontrivial and ultimately worth the time to enroll.

Salvaged/Reclaimed building materials

Salvaged and reclaimed building materials can be found in a wide variety of places including salvage yards, job sites, craigslist and weekend garage sales. With enough time spent searching one can locate some amazing deals. Architectural salvage yards with their wide selection of building & landscaping materials can be a good starting place to get an idea of what's available, or if you simply don't have the time to search for that killer bargain. And you can generally drop off surplus/unwanted building materials there too. Here are a few of my favorite salvage yards in Northern California. I'll also post these in the Resources section, and I encourage others to send me suggestions including those from other regions.

• Building REsources (San Francisco): Good selection of salvaged doors, windows, sinks, tubs, toilets, etc. Nonprofit that also hosts workshops. Also has funky recycled glass for which I may someday find a use.
• Heritage Salvage (Petaluma): Great selection of reclaimed wood of all types. Also has doors, windows, etc. and plenty of oddities. Their web site does great job of listing inventory. Located in So. Sonoma County.
• Ohmega Salvage (Berkeley): Good selection of various building materials with an emphasis on "vintage" architectural materials. Web site does great job of listing inventory. Has an interesting collection of large carved stone deities.
• Urban Ore (Berkeley): Bay Area landmark whose 3-acre facility is split between an enormous warehouse with furniture, clothes, books, household items, etc. and an outdoor area with large selection of doors, windows, sinks, tubs, toilets, wood, etc. Close to Ohmega so it's easy to hit both.