If you have an older house and are planning on landscaping your backyard, integrating recycled building supplies can help blend the yard with the style and materials of your house. It can also be a great way to honour the history of your house and area. Here are some ideas of ways to integrate recycled building materials into your project.

Recycled rail sleepers

If you live near a railway, you will often find railway sleepers are available as the wooden rails are regularly replaced. The wood used for sleepers is a high-grade hardwood and is still very suitable for any projects in the yard when replaced. You can use recycled sleepers for garden beds, and patio flooring. While they may no longer be in prime condition for train tracks, the weather appearance can add to the texture and interest of the yard.

Recycled benches from sports stadium

If a local sports stadium is getting renovated you can often pick up benches and recycled planks from the demolition. This can be a great way for a sport fan to integrate their memories of the local sport stadium into their backyard. Why not see if you can use some of these materials to make benches or seating for your yard, but be sure to check for damage such as termites or fungus before you put it in your yard.

Recycled bricks from demolition

If you are demolishing an old building on the site such as an old outside toilet, this can be a great source of building supplies for your yard. Otherwise other demolition projects can often yield bricks, such as local schools or other old buildings. Modern bricks are often hollow inside for weight reduction when building construction projects and do not survive the demolition process intact. 

Outhouses often have old weathered bricks, which you can use as a decorative border around paving such as pathways.

Recycled floorboards

Recycled floorboards from your house or other demolition sites can be used to make new wooden structures such as pergolas. Old hardwood flooring is often made from beautiful and unique wood, and can create a much higher quality pergola that you can usually purchase from a pergola kit.

Recycled building supplies inject a warmth and history to your landscaping project, and will make your backyard unique. Why not chat to your landscaper about options to integrate recycled building supplies into your landscaping project?