Reclaimed lumber from a residential deconstruction

The average diversion weight of usable reclaimed lumber from a typical residential home is 7.1 tons. 

Deconstruction worker carries lumber to load onto truck

It takes about 10 days to deconstruct an average sized home, with deconstruction teams of five workers. 

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TRI Retail Warehouse Training

Running a Retail Warehouse for Used Building Materials

This program was piloted in San Bernardino and sponsored by the Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino and is now offered at our Oakland facility or at yours.

The basic three-day course (Monday through Wednesday) covers all the questions that arise in opening and operating a retail outlet for used building materials including:

  • Merchandising
  • Breadth and depth of inventory
  • Minimum quality requirements
  • Safety
  • Types of stores
  • Procurement 
  • Receiving
  • Inventory

For managers who have completed the basic course an additional two days (Thursday and Friday) are devoted to:

  • Manager competencies and self-assessment
  • Warehouse location
  • Personnel and staffing requirements
  • Handling of cash and credit cards
  • Insurance
  • Donations
  • Promotion and advertising
  • Budgeting

Starting a retail business for used building materials is not much different from starting any other business. You need to know the basics of the target industry, understand what the consumer is looking for, and be reasonably familiar with the competition.

In the used building-material business, the merchandise is neither uniform nor neatly packaged. Products arrive in different shapes and configurations and present many safety, storage and display problems.

Knowing what has been received, what has been sold and the quantities on hand is an especially thorny issue. Quality and conditions vary dramatically. One door is almost perfect, the next is slightly scratched. Should they be priced the same? Other big challenges are procuring materials and managing the receiving process.

Layout and display are critical in any retail business, but particularly in this business. In order to keep customers coming back and recommending the store to their friends requires the ongoing, creative manipulation of available space. That’s not easy with so many large, cumbersome items.

These topics and more are fully addressed in the new warehouse training program, through lectures, discussions, written exercises and visits to existing retail establishments. Participants receive an illustrated workbook and participate in activities designed to build sales, merchandising and management skills.

Download Retail Training Course Outline

Upcoming Training Sessions

Oakland, CA:

June 16 - June 20, 2014 

Sessions held in the Oakland location are $600 per attendee, for the five day session.  Price includes a full color 100 page notebook, lunch each day, and a welcome dinner Monday night.

Register for an upcoming session

Airfare, lodging, and ground transportation, other than to and from the hotel and training sites, are the responsibility of the attendees.  

Area Hotels

Hilton Oakland Airport 
One Hegenberger Road
Oakland, CA  94621 
(510) 635-5000

Marriott Courtyard
350 Hegenberger Road
Oakland, CA  94621 
(510) 568-7600

Days Inn
8350 Edes Avenue
Oakland, CA  94621
(510) 568-1880

Holiday Inn Express
66 Airport Access Road
Oakland, CA  94603
(510) 569-4400

To schedule a training to be held at your location, please contact us for date availability and pricing.