Watching people recycle building fasteners?

darsunt

I've watched contractors and workers I've hired recycle building fasteners to an amazing degree. For example, all the lag bolts on a outside stair repair being reused except for the most absolutely rusted out ones. And 3" nails being pulled out, hammered straight, and reused.
I usually don't question these guys because I assume they know what they can get away with. But personally I am too nervous to do this. What do you guys think?

joed

I find it strange for contractors. I think it costs them more in time than the fasteners cost. However I do it myself all the time. Unless they have been recovered by burning the wood in a fire, I don't see anything wrong with the fasteners. Fire changes the hardness of them.

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md2lgyk

I'm just a DIYer, but my time is too valuable to spend it straightening nails. Reminds me of the Habitat for Humanity joke about putting excess volunteers on the bent nail committee.

robertcdf

That is an amazing waste of time, is this company legit? Where did you even find someone that would be so wasteful of time? Lag bolts could probably be ok, but nails is just silly. I don't reuse anything on a customers project.

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woodworkingkid

thats crazy. i can see reusing lag bolts but pulling framing nails out hammering them straight and reusing them sounds like a waste of time

jbfan

My grandfather used to have a bucket full of nails of many sizes.
He always had to hammer them straight.

Way back when, I used to do the same thing, now I grab a new one.

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Clutchcargo

I wouldn't recycle any fasteners. They are all much weaker on the second install.

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KatHelms

I'm with you. I remember as a kid spending tons of time flattening out nails with my dad's smallest hammer, just to hit them at an angle and bend them again!

I have a feeling back then my dad just didn't want me to waste all his nails, so if I bent one it was my responsibility to fix it.

Although I still fight the urge to save nails when I'm pulling...

mae-ling

Hmmm cost plus job? Or did they give you a price up front?