Second Chance in baltimore has a couple warehouses full of old things, from lumber to furniture, etc. A little bit of a drive, but its a pretty good selection.

http://www.secondchanceinc.org/index.aspx?u=Warehouse_Stores

+1 for Community Forklift. We've gotten tons of stuff there, from appliances to hardware to reclaimed lumber. Great place.

the brass knob has a bunch of building stuff from old buildings. probably don't have raw boards, but it is worth asking. they do have doors, fireplace mantels, doorknobs, etc. you may be able to reuse a door, or parts of a door if it is a small project.

Definitely try Community Forklift! Also, I'm not sure what you're looking for exactly but you could also take a trip out to Luckett's (past Leesburg). They often have old doors and windows for sale. They're not super cheap, but I'd imagine a piece of wood like that isn't either...think $100-$200.

Boy do I understand that feeling! I have been trying to look all over the DFW area and they only thing I find is railroad ties which I refuse to use!

Good luck!!!

You can find an amazing selection of reclaimed wood 90 minutes north of metro DC at the woods company in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

check us out at www.thewoodscompany.com

www.historicalwoods.com

Hi, Ruthie here, from Community Forklift Nonprofit Thrift Store for Home Improvement. Thanks to Mirabella, Petworthy, and JessicaBDesigner for recommending us!

For folks in other parts of the country with the same question, I would recommend checking out the Building Materials Reuse Association (www.BuildingReuse.org). It's the national trade organization for deconstruction companies, salvage operations, and thrift stores like us, and they have a directory on their website where you can search by state. Another national directory that focuses mostly on building materials thrift stores can be found at www.ReDo.org.

At Community Forklift, we do recieve donations of a wide variety of lumber - everything from modern 2x4s and pallets to old beams and vintage trim.

But for the board that Xiaolu is looking for, our consignment lumber would be ideal (our consignment partner is a company called Treincarnation - he takes local trees that are being cut down by the power company or landowners, and would otherwise be chipped, then mills them into gorgeous planks with organic raw edges. He also builds furniture - check out his stuff at www.Treincarnation.com).

We're located inside the Beltway, about 5 minutes from the NE DC line between Rhode Island Ave. and Kenilworth Ave (treehuggers & artists may be familiar with the neighborhood - we're in the Port Towns area, which is known for lots of green industry, and it's close to the Hyattsville Arts District).

One last bit of advice - when reaching out to tradespeople, builders, construction supply companies, thrift stores, and salvage yards, I have found that it can be hard to get an answer to an initial email. It's usually much better to call. This is because the construction world is online less than any other field - I think the official statistic is that only 20% of people in construction check email each day. I encounter so many builders who are out on jobsites, or construction suppliers who are out in the warehouse, or deconstuction folks who are out at the salvage site, and they rarely get time to sit at a desk to catch up on email.

And at thrift stores and salvage yards, it is always MUCH BETTER to visit because often there is so much turnover that employees don't even know what they have in stock at any given moment. - it's like calling Goodwill to ask if they have a particular size and color of pants.

Okay, hope that was helpful - happy reusing everybody!

There is a guy in Oakton, VA that always seems to advertise on Craigslist
I bought some nice barn boards their

There is a guy in Oakton, VA that always seems to advertise on Craigslist
I bought some nice barn boards their