Bay Area BP'ers - Discounted Retailer for Remodel??

Question

Hello

I have a specific question for those BP'ers that live in the bay area.  I am remodeling/updating a rental unit that I just purchased.  It hasn't had any updates since 1988.  I am going to need to buy windows, kitchen/bathroom sink, cabinets, doors and some other misc items.  I am looking for discount building suppliers.  Do any of you know of good places in the bay area (I am in east bay) other than Home Depot that I can get a good deal on some of these items?  I don't need top of the line and don't want to spend an arm and a leg either.

Thank you,

Kyle

Ryan Landis · Answer

This is an awesome list - thanks everyone for taking the time to share your great finds.

Danielle Charlier · Answer

The Away Station in Fairfax - http://www.theawaystation.org/ - and Building REsources in San Francisco - http://www.buildingresources.org/donations_inventory.html - have some good finds. Because they have so many different (and sometimes completely random) items in one place, they are good places for inspiring new ideas and creative solutions too.

Kyle Rosseau · Answer

Great suggestions everyone.  Thanks for the list @Melissa Ewbank!  I am going to check out Bestoff Windows and United Granite this weekend!

Kyle

Melissa Ewbank · Answer

oh, and for windows- Bestoff Windows. Sergey the owner is awesome and they are super affordable and do flawless work. They installed new windows in my entire house in less than 3 hours! Tell Sergey I sent you, he'll give you a great price.

Melissa Ewbank · Answer

Hey @Kyle Rosseau I've just purchased a bunch of materials for my current project.

United Granite in Richmond - great prices on cabinets and counters, they have granite and Quartz. Although they don't sell slabs so if you need something larger than 9' you'd probably need to go elsewhere

Granite Expo in Emeryville - they also have some good prices on counters but I found the cabinet prices much higher than UG. They do have a ton of inexpensive vanities though.

For my floors I used an online retailer, build direct.com. They have a ton of really nice laminate flooring options and I found them less expensive than lumber liquidators (i.e. I paid $1.59 sqft & for a comparable product at lumber liquidators it was $2.29). Only problem with builddirect is they don't have a lot of trim/molding pieces. I ended up getting molding from lumber liquidators and it matches perfectly.

Another online retailer, lightingdirect.com has really good prices on lighting and free delivery.

For tile I ended up going with Home Depot as they had some styles I liked that were in my price range, but all the other above places have tile too.

Another good source of info is to ask your contractor where they shop, good luck!

Melissa

Jeff Tang · Answer

Might be a little old, but you might give HD or Lowes a call to see if they still do this.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/67/topics/78368-lowes-home-depot---contractors-discount

Mary Ann Casey · Answer

This is a great question, and I hope to hear several recommendations since I'm interested in learning of some good discount places as well.  Here are the few that I know of:

Lumber Liquidators in Albany.

Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Oakland.

Sincere Home Décor in Oakland.