Only a few of you will understand this: I'm pretty excited about going to the Auction to get Plumbing Fixtures tonight!
Yeah. I know, most people don't think of an Auction as the best place to get new plumbing fixtures. But, this Beige Recyclable has learned from experience that the Auction is one of the cheapest places to get building materials. There's an Auction house a little ways up the highway that frequently handles materials for several high-end builders in "the city". Back in the good old days of a few years back when the building boom was still going strong, they had truck loads of materials every two weeks. In these days of austerity, there's likely to only be a few items there once a month. But it's still a good, cheap source.
Now, you're probably asking "Where do these materials come from? And why do these builders want to sell them so cheap?" Well, I can only speculate as I don't know for sure. But, I have been around more than my fair share of construction sites. Home building is especially prone to "that's not what the owner was expecting". The builder orders a product, say some flooring, and when it arrives it turns out to not be what the owner wanted. There might not be anything wrong with the product. It's just not what they expected. There is a difference in the material in person from the photo in the catalog or online. Or maybe the sample varies from the full sized product.
Or, the builder ordered the wrong item or the wrong item was shipped. On a window especially, the width and height dimensions can get transposed. A 42" wide by 30" high window is not going to fit in the same space as a 30" wide by 42" high window. Maybe they ordered all 36" doors, and when it comes to installing them, they won't all fit.
Sometimes there is damage in shipping. If an owner is paying a huge sum for a perfect piece of wood work, a ding, dent, or scratch can be a huge thing. On the other hand, if I can get it for 10% of it's worth, maybe I can live with a scuff or two. Or maybe I can put the time and effort into fixing the flaw. Maybe I don't need that last foot anyways.
So, instead of returning to the manufacturer or somehow trying to get their money back, the builder sends it all to the Auction. It may be more cost effective in the long run for them to sell it for a fraction than to try to ship it back. A Skilled Construction Worker's time is valuable and shouldn't be wasted on trying to put tile back into a box and then paying the shipping to send it back. Their loss is our gain.
DH has scoped out a fiberglass shower/tub unit at the auction tonight. From his assessment, it was probably damaged during installation. The hole for the shower head and faucet has to be cut out at the building site to make sure that it's in the correct location. The manufacturer doesn't cut it out at the factory because there are too many different variables. Stud spacing, plumbing access, faucet type, control type and size, number of openings required. The list is long. But this time, somebody must not have "measured twice" because when they "cut once" it was in the wrong place. Will we end up with an off-center shower head? Possibly. Will it matter to my family? Not at all when they know that the alternative is to continue trying to shower with the hose attached to the antique/vintage (and not in the good way) faucet that is on the rusting out claw foot bath tub in the kid's bathroom.
So, Off I go to save some bucks!
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