If you are living in an old mid-20th century home that you have recently purchased and you are ready to update the exterior, you may have some valuable building materials on the home. Just because they are outdated and maybe unattractive doesn't mean that you can't scrap the items and get some cash.
You will need to assess your house to see what different materials were used and what the current value is for these items. Consider scrapping or recycling the following items.
Scrapable Aluminum Items on the House
There could be a lot of opportunities for you to get aluminum scrap pieces to take to the aluminum recycling center. This means money you can put in your pockets for the projects that you have ahead. Some of the areas to find aluminum include:
- Gutters
- Siding
- Downspouts
- Awnings
- Fencing
If you can get all these items off the house without a lot of damage and haul them to the scrap yard, you could be looking at a nice cash payout.
Copper Around the Home
Copper is a highly valuable metal. If you have old appliances that have copper pipes, or copper plumbing and wiring around the home that isn't going to be used when the house is updated, you need to take this to be scrapped.
If you are removing plumbing from old appliances, make sure the water valves are all shut off and protect the flooring if there is old water in the pipes. Get a list of all the potential copper items around the property to make sure you don't miss anything before you head to the scrap yard.
If you have to rent a truck for the day to get all of the scrap to the metal facility, this may be cheaper than paying someone to come and haul it all away for you. There are some people that will come buy your scrap from you and take it to the scrap yard themselves. You will have to determine if this is worth the lower profit.
Go through the listing of items that can be scrapped from the recycling yard thoroughly to see if there are other items around the home that you don't want or need. This could be old shovels or lawn care items that were left behind when you purchased the home or even old and outdated aluminum chain link fencing around the yard that you want to take down.
Contact a copper recycling center to learn more.
