My wife and I like to drive around Saturday mornings and look at garage sales. We've found some real treasures over the years. Here are a few of my favorites. Post yours.
Almost new Coleman dual-fuel stove. $5.00
Unopened fall protection system including harness, ropes, etc. $10
Collection of hardly used Bosch tools. $30
Brand new Craftsman concrete mixer. $25
My wife grumbles sometimes, but until I run out of storage space I buy stuff I think I can use on the build.
Harness for steep roof projects including lanyard and boom loop...$13 at thrift store last week.
1/2" chuck Milwauke (corded) drill, tubing cutter, small plumbing torch head w/integral igniter...$30 for the lot.
2 sets of 2'w x 8'l x 6' h HD (orange/green) pallet racking...$30 for all.
Recent find:
200 amp panel, including all breakers. Four are GFI. No arc fault. May have to research the code for arc fault and when they are required.
Price: $0.00
Oh, dontcha love the finds.
Wife and I have gotten pretty good at it.
Seems there's a middle ground that ups the percentages of securing a great find.
There's the ones with everything tossed in the yard, no prices, been there since Y2K...an excuse to never mow the lawn.
If you make the mistake of stopping, and actually picking something up, the value of the objet d'art suddenly increases.
Then there's the professional ones. They have everything laid out in their garage, all neat, and priced in categories.
They are usually priced higher than the stores.
But the ones where everything is on the drive, ya got a chance.
These guys a) want to make a buck. And b) don't want to haul it back in.
Kah-ching
Keystone bricks, as many as we could load:
$15
Makita worm drive circular saw:
$25
DeWalt 12 volt cordless driver:
$60
15" flat screen monitor:
$10
People that have a penchant to upgrade for no apparent reason:
Priceless