Three Tips For Harvesting Scrap Metal From An Old Home

19 February 2015
 Categories: Industrial & Manufacturing, Blog

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You can make quite a lot of money harvesting scrap metal from an old and decrepit home. If the home was all but abandoned when you bought it, and you have a plan for building something new in its place, scrap metal harvesting is a great way to recoup at least some of your initial investment. To ensure that you get as much scrap metal as possible from an old home, remember these three tips.

Check Under The Windows For Window Weights

Many types of older windows have metal window weights to ensure that they slide up and down smoothly. These window weights are both relatively heavy and easy to access with nothing but a hammer and screwdriver.

Even if you don't find window weights on the first window you check, don't be discouraged to go on to the second. Even if two windows are of the same basic design, there's still a decent chance that the one you looked at had its weights removed after a repair job.

Break Into The Enclosed Space Immediately Above A Water Heater

If there's still a water heater in the home, it of course makes sense to detach and harvest it. But if you're not knowledgeable about where plumbing pipes are typically located in a home, it's easy to forget to harvest easy-to-reach pipes in the area immediately above the water heater.

Most of the time, the pipes directly servicing a water heater are in an enclosed space on the first floor. If the old home has relatively thin walls, it shouldn't be too much of a challenge to break into the enclosed area with a sledgehammer.

Check For Metal Clamps Supporting Insulation In The Attic

Some types of insulation are supported with metal clamps in order to keep them from falling out of place. If this is the case for the particular home you're working on, the total weight of all the clamps used will be very high.

It doesn't take much effort to check whether a home's insulation uses clamps, either. All you have to do is uncover one corner of your attic's floor and see whether you can find any large metal prongs.

Scrap metal harvesting is a surprisingly lucrative activity if you know what to look for. Especially if you're in the business of developing property, it doesn't make sense to let a valuable component of what you just bought go completely to waste.

For more information, contact Pasco Inc. or a similar company.