What Can You Do with Leftover Building Materials?

FeastHome – If you’re planning a home improvement project, good for you! Whether it’s a kitchen transformation remodel, building a new patio, or painting a room, chances are you’ll end up with a fresh space and some leftover materials. What now?

Your first thought might probably be to throw them away or put them in your garage or attic. Sure, you want to store them to hopefully use them later – but we all know it won’t happen, and they’ll end up collecting dust and forgotten.

If you want to break this unproductive cycle, you’ve come to the right place! In this article, we’ll give you some ideas on what you can do with extra building materials from your home improvement project. If you want to find out more, keep on reading!

Reuse It

Experts from Highest Cash Offer agree: the most productive way to deal with leftover building materials is to reuse them. Below, you’ll find examples of things you can do with specific items:

Tiles

Tiles are still good to work with, even if they’re broken. They come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and textures, giving you many opportunities to reuse them in a creative way. Here’s what you can do with your leftover tiles:

• Use broken pieces to create a mosaic pathway, a tabletop, a colorful wall decoration, or another hard surface.
• Large pieces or unbroken tiles make up for a fantastic colorful border in your garden.
• You can also use large, unbroken tiles as trivets or coasters in your kitchen.
• Use small, broken pieces as a filler at the bottom of planters. This way, the water will drain easier.

Paint

It’s always better to purchase more paint “just in case” rather than having to go to the store again and frantically looking for the same shade. However, you almost certainly won’t use it all. Luckily, you can store it for later use – just cover the opening with plastic wrap, secure the lid, and put it upside down to let it seal. What next?

• Paint flower pots or flower boxes.
• Repaint your furniture.
• Do small touch-ups around the house.
• If you have a lot of paint left, consider painting the entire room or at least one wall to create an interesting look.

Pro tip: even if you have other projects in mind, keep a small amount of paint just in case you need to do some touch-ups on your original project.

Bricks

Do you have some leftover bricks? Don’t let them go to waste! You can build something useful and unique, as reclaimed bricks have a patina that can add esthetic value to any space. It’s a solid building material – consider using it to boost your curb appeal in a number of ways:

• You can use bricks to create a garden pathway or a border between your lawn, path, and flowerbeds.
• Build a barbecue or a fire pit for amazing garden parties when the weather gets warm again.
• Build raised flower beds or vegetable beds if you want to create more space for plants in your garden.

Wood

Out of all the building materials mentioned above, wood is probably the most versatile. If you have scrap wood, the possibilities are limited only by your creativity and the amount that’s left. Here are some examples of what you can do with leftover wood:

• Build a trellis for your garden.
• Build a bookshelf or a storage unit.
• Make picture frames, or hang the most decorative pieces as a wall decoration.
• If you’re into arts and crafts, you can make wooden toys for your children or grandchildren. Don’t have them around? Consider giving the toys you make to children in your neighborhood or sell them.
• In case you have a lot of wood lying around, build a treehouse for your kids to play. This is a more ambitious project, but if you feel you have the time and skills, go for it!
• Ultimately, if the pieces are too small or misshapen, use them as firewood.

Lose It

Even though there are many ways in which you can reuse your excess building materials, sometimes you may simply want to get rid of them. Here’s what you may consider doing if you don’t want to keep them:

Throw Away

Sometimes you won’t be able to reuse your leftover materials. If that’s the case, don’t hesitate and throw them away instead of storing them somewhere.

Disposing of paint is the trickiest, but here’s what you can do. Water-based paints (latex and acrylic) can be thrown away if they’re completely dry. You can let it air dry if there’s not much left, or add a paint hardener, kitty litter, or shredded paper to solidify it. Then, scoop it out and throw it in the trash. Don’t forget to recycle the can!

On the other hand, alkyd, or oil-based paint, is hazardous waste, and it’s highly flammable. As such, you shouldn’t throw it in the trash. If you want to dispose of it properly, bring it to a local recycling station.

Donate

We bet many community organizations in your area could use some free building materials. If you want, consider donating your spare materials to a school, a church, a non-profit organization, a shelter, or other charities.

Sell

Ultimately, you can make some quick cash by selling the items you no longer need. If you’re done with remodeling, you can easily find other DIY enthusiasts on platforms like Craigslist, eBay, or Freecycle.

The Bottom Line

It’s always difficult to calculate how many items and materials you’ll end up using during home renovation and remodeling projects. In such cases, it’s better to buy more and be certain that you won’t suddenly run out and put your project on hold. However, if you’re left with some extra building materials, throwing them away is just one of the options.

The most cost-effective solution is to reuse leftover materials for future remodeling projects. Selling or donating them will be a great option if you don’t plan on using them, but they’re in good condition. This way, you’ll produce less waste, help someone out, and maybe even get something from it.