Building Materials Recycled

Habitat For Humanity, which builds low-cost homes with volunteer labor, this month opened The ReStore, which gathers donated building materials that Habitat can’t use in its projects and sells them to the public. The funds then go toward building more houses.

The store is also a recycling center, said ReStore coordinator and AmeriCorp volunteer Sarah Schroeder.

Much of the merchandise would wind up in a landfill if not for the efforts of Habitat volunteers, Schroeder said. “We’re reducing waste and operating a store that offers good quality for not that much money.”

Home Depot it’s not. The store does not carry every size window or nail. Quantities are limited. But nearly everything is new, from rolls of carpet to track lights, kitchen cabinets, toilets, doors and hardware.

Prices, however, are much lower. Some kitchen cabinets, for instance, are priced at $28 and louvered doors for $20.

The clientele is equally eclectic, from contractors and apartment owners to the people who moved into houses that Habitat built. “It’s a place for us to interact with the families we work with,” Schroeder said.

The ReStore is a relatively new venture for the organization and the North Hollywood shop is one of the first in California, Schroeder said.

A Texas ReStore that opened two years ago has already raised enough money to build two more homes, she said.

The goal of Habitat For Humanity is “to eliminate poverty and substandard housing from the face of the earth.” Founded by Millard and Linda Fuller in 1976, the organization has built more than 60,000 homes worldwide, the group’s administrators say.

Habitat of San Fernando and Santa Clarita has built or rehabilitated 37 homes and has plans for another 66, including 17 in Panorama City and Burbank that the group plans to finish in the next six months.

On Saturday, The ReStore’s window sale will spill onto the sidewalk to make room for members of the Burbank Key Club--a high school service organization--whose members will be inside finishing the mural they started last weekend.

The ReStore is at 5525 Cahuenga Blvd. in North Hollywood, just south of Burbank Boulevard. Telephone: (818) 487-9600.