The Reuse People

wow we did several removation projects at our home and we can always count on this place to have what we need or a variance of what we need and better. THey have a HUGE supply and very authentic pieces in a very wide variety of prices and conditions. When you go here, never discard a dusty/​dirty item. it can be a gem for your home, and even an investment. So many wealthy people in the bay area getting rid of perfectly good stuff. ANd its nect to St Vincent and Habitat so a great one stop for thrifting, vintage, buikding supplies and for antiquing (lots of stained glass windows, bath/​kitchen fixtures, etc. they got modern, antique and everything in between. If you go here see TRANG, She is the BEST attendant they have!!!

I bought a cheap door here for a cheap door project.
I paid the price written on the door.

Lots of doors, cabinets, sinks, etc. It’s very well organized, but packed kind of tight. You have to know exactly what you’re looking for cuz you’re not getting much help. It’s right next to St Vincent DePaul thrift store and Habitat for Humanity. Don’t bother looking for Industrial St, as shown on the map. It doesn’t exist. One other thing, the address is wrong. It’s 9235 San Leandro STREET near the Coliseum. It turns into a Boulevard in San Leandro (according to Waze anyways…)
Are brand new doors $ 500? It seemed like their prices were not a bargain.

This place is awesome. I love salvages. They re-​purpose perfectly if not higher quality items taken out of old homes you can’t buy anymore. Keep up the good work guys!

I am actually on the other end of this and wanted to give a review of a donation. I had these guys completely deconstruct a residence in Marin County and donate all the resulting proceeds to their charity. Their crew was terrific and it feel so good to know the materials will go to reuse and not to a landfill. The crew could not have been more professional, courteous and timely. One of the better contractors I have worked with. Highly recommended.

My new go to store for lumber and misc building supplies. When my husband and I set out to build a chicken coop, we were fainter by the high cost of 2x4s for something that would ultimately live outdoors and attract bird shit. After finding the Reuse guys, we were able to buy 22 2x4s for about $ 34, making our project much more affordable. The staff is helpful, the selection is great, and the habitat for humanity store next door might have the paint or tile to finish your project without having to leave one parking lot.

I love anyplace that’s dedicated to helping protect the environment, recycle, and help support low income people in improving their life’s. I’ve renovated two houses and have used this store and the other outlets that share its parking lot on numerous occasions. I never seem to find exactly what I’m looking for; but, I usually find something I can use and always get a great deal.
The prices are about ¹⁄₃^rd the price retail. The condition of the merchandise is usually good. They have entire door assembly’s priced from $ 35 -$ 80/​ea. They have a huge supply of toilets starting around $ 40-​$ 90. They have entire cabinet sets and window assemblies also very reasonably priced. You can find flooring, paint, whirlpool tubs, vanities, sinks, mounting and installing hardware and supplies, lighting fixtures and numerous electrical and plumbing parts and accessories. It’s a carpenter’s and handyman’s toy store.
Next door is a St. Vincent de Paul that carry’s household items and cloths. Its like a mini thrift mall. You can donate as well as shop.
The staff is friendly and more that willing and able to help you locate what you need and load your vehicle with the purchases.
Perhaps the best part about shopping at this store is the feeling you get not only from saving money, but from doing something to prevent waste and protect the environment. I also feel great that I’m helping to support an establishment that helps to support low income family’s.
If you’re doing home renovations, I highly recommend you check out this place first. You won’t be sorry.

Just across the way from Habitat for Humanity’s restore. People will naturally compare the two which is probably why this place has higher ratings. They have a LOT of doors and windows here … not nearly as much furniture, hardware and fixtures (as the HFH Restore).
I read a lot of DIY /​reuse blogs which inspires me to do more and try to be more crafty. But when I actually got here and thought about the work needed to get a door home, sand it, refinish it and then install it — the thought of all that work overwhelms me.
It’s sort of like when you get a crush on someone that’s no good for you and have an entire relationship with them in your head and decide after 5 minutes it’s a bad idea.

I love this place! Think Urban Ore in Berkeley… but without the pretentious bullshit.
The best place I’ve found for salvaged building materials like lumber, windows and doors. Prices are quite reasonable and staff are always friendly and helpful

Fantastic place — I came home with lots of things to measure and plan — and cant wait to go back. You name it, for your home, and they probably have it. They have some really gorgeous items and some items that would be very easy to make gorgeous! I really recommend this place is you are a do-​it-​yourselfer!

This place is great!
Friendly, fair dealing folks — lot’s of great stuff — reasonable prices!
The complete opposite of their next door neighbor Oakland/​Restore (Habitat for inHumanity).
Happy Hunting! ;)

I actually DO like this place, I went there several years ago. My gripe is with this Unilocal website that has BOGUS hours printed. The ad shows Sunday hours. The ReUse (and their neighbor businesses) are NOT open on Sundays. We loaded up 2 toilets and happily drove over there just to find the big iron gates CLOSED! My first clue should have been the typo «Sunday 10am-​4am». Oh well, maybe we can find another day to, yet again, load up 2 heavy toilets, and drive over hoping they won’t go to a landfill?

Four stars because I totally loved this place and could see myself coming back for things. Minus one star because I didn’t get a great find. I’ve only been there once, so maybe it should be 4.5 stars… Great for building projects. Less great for random crafty projects unless you need bigger stuff. Less «small» stuff than Urban Ore or that place in EPA.

Their recycled stuff on the whole is in much better shape than at urban ore and prices are better. One thing I think they do is clear the place out every now and then so there is not as high a junk to good stuff ratio as you might suspect

I go here and the Habitat for Humanity ReStore next door and the St. Vincent de Paul behind it fairly often — three bargain hunting places for the price of driving to one! All three have the potential to give you a good bargain, to keep things out of the landfill, and donate to charity all at once.
This place has lots of used doors, windows, cabinets, lighting fixtures, bathroom fixtures, kitchen appliances, and wood. I got a looks-​like-​new bathroom light for $ 7 and a bullet light in good shape for an old track lighting system for 50 cents. If you need cheap and solid cabinets for your garage — this is the place! Some of the cabinets are nice enough for your kitchen or bathroom, too.

Love the Reuse People!
We bought a fixer a bit over 2 years ago, and have come here numerous times, even before they moved into the Oakland location.
Fantastic prices, lots of changing selection.
They will let you hold items for a day or so before you decide to buy for sure. Also, will hold stuff after you buy to get a truck to haul it all home. They’ve even helped us load stuff a few times!
Prices are great.
We got cabinets in great shape, great quality, for less than the crap fiberboard ones at big box outlets.
It’s second hand, so the inventory is constantly changing. Sometimes there’s nothing there I can imagine growing to love, sometimes, I covet half the warehouse!
Good cause, needed service, fantastic prices!
Now, that’s a hell of a lot better than damn Home Depot!

Everything the first reviewer said is true. I made my way here on a Sunday (it was open on a Sunday!), and 30 minutes before the 4:30 closing hour. The ReStore wasn’t open, but the building salvage area was. Besides the sheer ecological wonder of it all, there’s an anthropological element to it: Many items bear a sticker denoting its original place of origin — an address in Atherton, Danville, Los Gatos. So, you may never be able to afford the high end home, you can at least own their salvaged cabinet.

This place is cool. Not hipster-​cool, just cool. It’s a successful, established non-​profit company that salvages building materials and sells them for re-​use. Everything from steel bars, plumbing fixtures, flooring, cabinets, antique bricks, water heaters, whatever. Even stuff off of elaborate movie sets like The Matrix. They contract to do the «demolition», or at least recover the materials, of homes –sometimes incredibly nice homes. Then they figure out which materials are sound for re-​use, and sell them cheaply or reasonably out of a warehouse open to the public. It’s kind of like Building Resources in San Francisco, only less quirky, less junk, more organized, and on a more massive scale. I go to BR for mosaic tiles, interesting scraps, etc., but if I were remodeling my house (–if I *had* a house), I’d go to TRP.
I’ve only gone to the warehouse once, with a friend who needed to buy a couple of windows, some wood, etc.; he’s a contractor and assured me the prices were good, and the quality of the materials was superb. The staff seemed friendly and like they knew what the hell they were talking about.
Although they have a monthly email newsletter that keeps you posted on upcoming demolitions, etc., the nature of their business and its changing inventory means that they can’t have all items and prices on their website. I can’t fault them for this, but it’s still frustrating, only because I wouldn’t want to drive over to Oakland for nothing.
I wouldn’t normally give this place 5 stars only because I haven’t had occasion to shop there enough — did I mention that I don’t own my own place? :-(But what they do is so necessary, useful, and cool, and they do it so well, that they get the extra star. They make it easy for us lazy people to make environmentally sound purchases, without doing any extra work, and still get a great deal.