A reference catalogue of salvaged building material — organised by what the material is, not by what it costs.

Wide line plate of stacked salvage: doors, brick, a column, a mantel, a cast-iron tub and an iron fence panel

Salvage, catalogued by material

Twelve material entries and three working guides, each describing what a salvaged piece is made of, how to read its age, what usually fails and what to check before you fit it.

Open the catalogue

Featured material

Eight entries from across the four material families, each with the period range it usually falls in and the form it commonly turns up in.

Line plate of four door knob forms with their shanks, drawn in elevation — Door knobs1840-1940
Pairs on a threaded spindle, usually with rosettes.

Line plate of a mantel shelf, frieze and legs framing a firebox opening — Mantels1850-1930
Shelf, frieze and two legs around a firebox opening.

Line plate of six courses of brick laid in a stretcher bond — Reclaimed brick1800-1930
Common, face and paving brick, sizes irregular by modern standards.

Line plate of an iron fence panel with finialled pickets and a mid rail — Architectural ironwork1830-1930
Fence panels, gates, window grilles, floor grates, brackets.

Line plate of a fluted column with its capital and base in elevation — Columns1860-1930
Shaft with base and capital, plain or fluted, tapered or parallel.

Cast-iron tubs1880-1940

Roll-top, slipper and double-ended, on feet or a plinth.

Line plate of a six-panel door with its knob position marked — Salvaged doors1820-1940
Two, four, five and six-panel arrangements, glazed and half-glazed.

Line plate of a pendant light fitting with its shade and canopy — Salvaged lighting1890-1950
Pendants, sconces, ceiling roses, gasolier conversions.

How the catalogue is grouped

Entries are grouped by what the material actually is rather than by the room it came out of. Wood, metal, masonry, and glass and ceramic each fail in their own way, and knowing the fabric tells you more about a piece than knowing which house it was pulled from.

Every entry describes the same four things in the same order: what the material is, how to tell its age, what commonly fails, and what to check before fitting. Measurements are given as ranges, because salvaged material varies piece to piece and no two runs of the same thing are alike.

Entry in full

Every catalogue entry opens the same way: the plate, then the specification, then the prose.

Mantels

Period range	1850-1930
Usual fabric	Pine, oak, marble, slate, cast iron
Usual form	Shelf, frieze and two legs around a firebox opening
Wear to expect	Split legs, scorched inner edges, stripped and re-stripped paint

A mantel is measured from the opening outward, and an inch of error at the firebox is an inch that cannot be made up anywhere else on the piece.

Read the mantels entry

Also catalogued

Four further entries covering flooring, hardware finishes, leaded glass and porcelain fixtures.

Line plate of six floorboards showing nail positions at the bearings — Heart pine flooring1850-1930
Face-nailed or tongue-and-groove boards, varying widths.

Line plate of a rosette, an escutcheon and a lock case — Knob and lock finishes1860-1940
Rosettes, escutcheons, rim and mortice lock cases, strike plates.

Line plate of a leaded glass panel showing the came layout — Leaded and stained glass1870-1940
Door lights, fanlights, stair windows, cabinet panels.

Line plate of a pedestal basin in elevation with its tap positions — Porcelain plumbing fixtures1890-1950
Pedestal basins, wall-hung basins, cast sinks with integral drainboards.

How to use this catalogue

Each entry is laid out identically so that two materials can be compared line for line: a plate of the form, a specification table giving the period range, the usual fabric, the usual form and the wear to expect, and then four short passages covering identification, age, failure and inspection.

Period ranges are ranges rather than dates, and dimensions are described rather than tabulated, because salvaged material is not manufactured to a standard and any two examples of the same thing will differ. Where a measurement matters, take it from the opening you are filling rather than from the fitting you are hoping to use.