Salvaging Is Timeless

His father did it. His father’s father did it. And now Ken Kieswetter (right) is doing it too. With a passion for heritage, and a healthy respect for preservation, Kieswetter, along with his brothers Dave and Gerry, is in the demolition and salvage business – with a difference.

Timeless Materials, a sister company to Kieswetter Demolition, is a retail operation that sells salvaged building materials that have been diverted from landfill and “upcycled.” When historic buildings must come down, the company carefully deconstructs them and remills the wood for use as flooring, furniture, shelving, countertops and even entire timber-framed structures.

In 2002, Kieswetter relocated Timeless Materials after refusing to demolish an old barn situated on the outskirts of Waterloo, Ontario. “It was so solidly built,” says Kieswetter, “that I couldn’t take it down.” Instead, the entrepreneur purchased the 1860 farm. Now, that same barn – all four renovated stories of it – is chock- a-block full of carefully salvaged materials. “Everything for sale in our barn has an embedded story,” promises Keiswetter.

If you can find one, explore your local, salvaged-material shop – there will be a world of treasures within, each with its own story.

Elisabeth Percy has been reusing salvaged goods for eons. Photos of Timeless Materials by BrianStDenis.com.

Go to main article.