Customer Projects Gallery Jacksonville, FL

Looking to beat the heat this summer? You don’t need a pool or beach-side address to capture the shady relief of a traditional cabana. With a few modifications, a porch, deck, or even a room indoors can take on the look and feel of a cabana in your own home. Even folks in New York City are getting in on…

The Eco Relics architectural salvage company is proud to occupy a fine example of industrial architecture in one of Florida’s oldest surviving industrial neighborhoods. The 50,000+ square foot warehouse at 106 Stockton Street was built in 1927 by Baker & Holmes Company, a wholesaler of food staples, building materials, and more. The neighborhood was largely undeveloped until that time, save…

Please join us at Eco Relics on Sunday, November 13 for our Fall Fling! There will be live music, food from the Best Burgers Jax food truck, and free beer. Free beer? Free beer! We’re raising money for the Jacksonville chapter of Best Buddies International, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for…

DIY is for everyone! It’s a common feature of our American heritage across all cultural distinctions. DIY is a bonding experience for young and old, an opportunity to share skills across generations. It instills the confidence that only comes from a sense of self-reliance and knowledge of past accomplishments. Independence is a function of doing it yourself. Debbie’s DIY Kitchen…

Buying furniture can be a daunting task for the ecologically-motivated shopper. A life cycle assessment of the average piece of big box store furniture is a scary sight. Carbon emissions, toxicity of materials, forestry practices, VOCs, and other concerns often lead furniture seekers to greener alternatives. Vintage Furniture Vintage or used furniture is one option. By keeping money out of…

The U.S. Green Building Council updated its credit system to Version 4 this year. New construction projects seeking a LEED certification may now earn up to 7 points in the Materials and Resources category that directly relate to architectural salvage. That’s 17.5% of a certification! Construction and demolition waste planning is now required for all new construction. Projects can earn up…

Woodworking with reclaimed and salvaged lumber is a great way to lend some authentic Americana to a DIY project. “Weathered” is not a look that is easily faked. When done wrong, it just looks terrible. On the other hand, genuine patina not only adds aesthetic value to a piece, it can also provide a protective covering to material that might otherwise…

January is national hobby month, a time to acknowledge our interests that fall outside of our professions. Leisure time was once the exclusive province of the upper class after the Industrial Revolution, clock time, and electric lights dramatically changed most people’s relationship with work. For over a century laborers fought to reduce the length of their workday, which could range…

A Very Short History of Signage Merchants and tradespeople have used signs to advertise their services for at least 5,000 years. Symbols, rather than writing, was the preferred method to communicate to potential buyers before widespread literacy. In ancient Rome, a bush of ivy and vines engraved in stone or terra cotta indicated a tavern. Besides directing thirsty patrons to…

Richard Bilyard’s Epoxy River Table Each item that comes into Eco Relics has a story. Every piece of lumber was once a tree. Once materials leave the store, they embark on another journey, a new chapter to its story. The Eco Relics DIY Customer Creations Facebook page is full of wonderful creations and this month we spoke with Richard Bilyard…

Thanks to our custom wood shop, Eco Relics gets to work with some of Jacksonville’s greatest small businesses. The folks at Grassroots Natural Market recently contracted Eco Relics master fabricator Kris to construct a display shelf for their store. A Grassroots customer himself (sandwiches, smoothies, and Dr. Bronner’s Magic soap, an Eco relics favorite), Kris had a good idea what…

The Bostwick building, at the corner of Ocean and Bay, is one of downtown Jacksonville, Florida’s most visible historic buildings. It was constructed in 1902, one of the first permitted structures built after the Great Fire. Sporting typical “big bank” architecture, it hosted a succession of failed banks through the boom and bust cycles of the early 20th century. A…

More than fifteen years ago, Robert and Mary purchased an old lamp base in a Williamsburg, Virginia antique store. To the untrained eye it might have looked like a candidate for the trash can. The electric components were shot, the shade was missing, and the metal base was tarnished and corroding. But Robert and Mary recognized something in lamp base’s…

2015 was the first full year of business for the Eco Relics architectural salvage company, and also the first year for the Eco Relics blog. It launched with a post from back in January about our historic 1927 warehouse in Jacksonville’s Mixon Town neighborhood. Since then, plenty of posts have come and gone down the blog roll. Here’s our top…

A few months ago I told my wife I’d build us a proper dining room table so we can stop eating off TV trays. We had a nice 5 panel door leftover from our remodel (a two year odyssey) that seemed like a good candidate for a table top. All I would need to do is make legs. We decided…