That $25 warped oak top from ReStore turned into my best desk build yet

I stopped by the Habitat ReStore on 22nd Street last Saturday just to look around for cheap lumber and maybe some drawer slides. That's when i spotted this big solid oak desk top, probably 60 inches long, marked down to $25 because one corner had a bad warp. I almost walked past it, but i stood there thinking about how i could cut off the twisted section and still have a 48 inch surface for my setup. I ended up taking it home, ran it through my table saw, and glued up a new edge strip from scrap pine i had in the garage. Two evenings of work later, it's now my standing desk top with dual monitors and it looks way better than anything i could buy new for under $150. The weird thing is, i never thought to check building salvage stores before, but now i'm hooked on the hunt. Has anyone else scored usable desk parts from a restore or salvage yard near them?

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rileyl9821d ago

Ever actually checked one of those places before? I used to think ReStore was just for old doors and weird fixtures. Then my buddy dragged me in for hinges and I saw a solid birch butcher block for $40. Ended up cutting it down for a corner desk, still going strong three years later. You’re right about the hunt being half the fun.