Hunting for Older Building Material

Dear Tim: The upper half of my house is siding with "shake-style" aluminum shingles. My hunch is that they were installed at least 20 years ago. I have about a 3'x9' section where they are missing. I have no idea if they can be purchased any longer. If not, do you know of any place that may have used ones, etc.? Paul B.

Dear Paul: I would call demolition contractors in your area. They are always listed in the phone book. These companies specialize in hunting for building materials that people need. If you supply them with a photo of the siding and tell them what you would pay them for the rights to salvage some of the siding before they destroy the house, they will hopefully call you when they find a house like this.

I would also scout the place where you live for houses that have the siding. Ask the homeowners if they are thinking of getting rid of what they have for a new siding. If so, perhaps they will let you salvage some.