Freebies for Your Home-projects Galore!!!
The first thing you need to do is befriend every builder in your area. These gentle giants have to throw a lot away; dry-wall offcuts, insulation,timber, fibre-cement pieces, bricks,old concrete, name it. Even if you don’t need dry-wall pieces now, it could happen that someone has an accident and you’ll get a hole in the wall, and a small piece might come in handy. If you have to buy this you’ll be stuck with a large sheet. So that’s why it is handy to have some smaller pieces, for future use.Having 2 or three pieces of fibre-glass insulation is handy for a wrap around the hot-water in the basement.(saves you on energy) And of course the bricks come in handy for all sorts of things, like a garden path one day. Old concrete might give you a terrace for the summer. So start looking at what builders throw away! If you are a lady and ask the builder nicely, he might even bring it to your car!
No doubt you’ve seen those big concrete-trucks driving around, (and around and around). Concrete doesn’t have a long”lifespan” and goes off after a while. If the project, like a new driveway, is not quite ready to take the concrete, the truck goes back and they have to discard the concrete. What a shame! So if you are thinking of making a new driveway, befriend a concrete-driver and ask them to drop it off at your place. The only thing is, your driveway must be ready for it and you’ll have to stay at home, waiting for the phone-call.Also: don’t expect the driver to help you, that is not his job. So for this freebie you must be well prepared.The currency for this is usually a couple of beers, and a heart-felt “thank you”.
House-painters usually have half-cans of paint left-over after a job. You won’t get to choose the colors, but usually it is enough to do at least 1 wall. Also, they usually use very good quality paint, so you’ll get the very best.
If you are an avid gardener and in need of new top-soil, here is a way to get a freebie. Go around new housing developments. When you see a digger, that is a sign they are taking out top-soil. Ask the men what they are using it for, are they throwing it out, or re-using it. If they throw it out, you are probably welcome to it as long as you bring your trailer and shovel and do the work yourself. If they want to deliver it to your front-door in a truck, keep in mind that a decent size truck holds 8 cubic metres of top-soil and that is a lot. It won’t be “screened” either so there will be grass,rocks and all sorts in there. But it is for free, so don’t complain.You will have to ask how much delivery costs you, trucks do run on petrol. If the delivery is for free, again a couple of beers will be appreciated!
And of course, if nothing else, you’ll be making friends along the way! Happy hunting from me.
