Since COVID the price of building supplies has soared on average 40 percent higher, far outstripping the rate of inflation, according to ConstructConnect. So if you want to renovate your home but you have a limited budget, how will you get the materials you need at a price that you can afford?
The good news is that there are alternatives to just walking into your local big box store and picking up materials from the shelf. Though that surely is the most convenient way to stock up, if you’re willing to put in a little more time and effort, you can score some serious deals. And in some cases it’s not just money you’re saving – you could be diverting materials that would be going to landfill.
To get you started, we’ve collected a few ways to find discount building supplies here. If you know of any good ones that are not on the list leave them in the comments below.
Building Material Exchanges
Though they are few and far between, if you’re lucky enough to live around a building material exchange you’re in luck, because these handy organizations hook up businesses that want to offload surplus materials with those that are looking for get materials.
- Lighthouse Building Material Exchange – BC
- Partners in Project Green – Ontario
- Ontario Materials Marketplace – Ontario
Salvage Yards, Demolition Companies, and Recycling Centres
There’s not a more direct example of “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” than going to the local salvage yard or recycling centre. Demolition crews are constantly dumping off their waste building materials so you can find all kinds of useful things – basically whatever you’d find being deconstructed in a building, such as bricks, concrete, rebar, lumber, doors, and windows.
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Some salvage yards are run by demolition crews that hold on to the waste they’ve collected and resell it for a reasonable price. Salvage yards are not just for in-person shopping either as some of them also sell online.
Instead of running salvage yards, some demolition companies resell the materials they’ve collected through private sales or auctions. Before they sell off their valuable materials, you can contact them to see if they have anything you’re looking for. Otherwise you can just check out the auctions directly (see below).
Western Canada
- Capital Salvage Company – BC
- Alberta Mechanical – Alberta
- Salvage Solutions – Alberta
- Salvage Supermarket – Manitoba
Eastern Canada
- Koomans Demolition – Ontario
- PDI National Salvage – Ontario and Online
- Gagnon Demolition – Ontario and Online
- Quebec Aubaines Recycle – Quebec
- Renovators Resource – Nova Scotia
Auctions, Surplus, and Estate Sales
If you enjoy the thrill of hunting down a bargain, you’ll love going to an auction, surplus, or estate sale. The deals you can get are ridiculous. How does a $5 door sound? Or a $3 window? So as long as you’re not outbid you can place a low bid and come home with it.
If you want to save time, you can peruse certain auctions online from the comfort of your living room, though it is still a good idea to inspect items before purchasing them since the purchasing experience is nothing like shopping on Amazon. In general the descriptions lack detail and there are few pictures. The pictures that are posted are usually low quality. In some cases you can have items shipped to you, in some cases you have to pick them up.
Bulk Buying, Wholesale Suppliers and Liquidators
For larger projects, buying in bulk can lead to significant savings. Wholesale suppliers offer reduced rates for high-volume purchases, which can be a major advantage if you’re doing new construction. By integrating a supply chain planning tool into your procurement process you can also streamline your purchases and manage costs more effectively.
Some wholesaler liquidators specialize in selling selling surplus or overstock building materials that they procure from retailers, distributors or directly from manufacturers at discounted prices. One large liquidation site is Bstock.
When you’re talking to suppliers you can always try asking them for a discount. If you’re buying in bulk or if the materials have been sitting around awhile they’ll be more likely to knock off a few bucks, particularly if you’re a regular customer.
Here’s a list below, but it’s also worth checking out local trade shows to find additional suppliers near you.
Habitat for Humanity ReStores
The non-profit organization Habitat for Humanity also operates ReStores, a social enterprise retailer that takes in donations of building materials, furniture, and other items for the home and resells them at discounted prices. Shopping at ReStores not only saves you money but it also supports a charitable cause – the money you spend goes towards building affordable homes for low-income Canadians.
Online Marketplaces
With the popularity of online marketplaces, it’s no surprise you can find building materials on them. If you look around you can find used materials, scrap material being given away, or new materials, often sold at a lower cost.
Many sellers will offer to sell very cheaply or even give away items so they don’t have to haul it away to the dump. Here are some of the sites you can check out:
Sales at Local Hardware Stores
Though big box stores are known for their lower prices, it doesn’t mean they always have lower prices. If you look in your mailbox you might get lucky and find a flyer from your local hardware store advertising a sale on particular supplies that you’re looking for. Or if you can be patient to make your purchases, stores commonly slash their prices during Black Friday, Boxing Day, and the end of each season, so it could be worth waiting. It’s also a good idea to get subscribed to your local store’s loyalty card as another way to save.
It’s worth shopping at local hardware stores for other reasons. In some cases you can find items that you may not be able to find in big box stores, and the level of service is usually better. One of the best things about buying at your local hardware store is that, more likely than not, you’ll also be buying Canadian.
When there’s a sale going on you’ll be tempted to buy highly discounted items that you won’t necessarily need, so it’s good to control this temptation by making a shopping list in advance of shopping, helping you to purchase only the discounted items that you actually need.
Here’s a list of some local hardware stores across Canada:
Across Canada
Western Canada
Eastern Canada
When you take into account all the above options, there are quite a few alternatives to paying full price for building materials as long as you take the time to look around. And in some cases you could also be doing something good for the environment by making use of something that would otherwise go to waste. So good luck on your search for affordable, discount building materials!
Check out our Buy Canadian Building Supplies Guide for more.
