Lobby at Re-use Hawaii is made of the salvaged gym floor from Punahou. Photo by Nina Wu.

The other day, I swung by the Re-use Hawaii warehouse to browse for recycled building materials.

The warehouse, at 200 Keawe St. (next door to the John A. Burns School of Medicine), first opened its doors in April 2010, and has since expanded.

Here, you can find everything from leftover, green tiles from the Wilson Tunnel to redwood lumber, windows, doors, cabinets, light chandeliers, drawer pulls, screws, hinges and even a few, occasional furniture pieces like a vintage office desk.

Cool, you could have a piece of the Wilson Tunnel in your kitchen or bathroom.

You can take a peek at what's available at this picasa link.

Re-use, a non-profit, specializes in deconstruction services, meaning it takes apart a home piece by piece, salvaging all reusable materials. It's a greener alternative  to demolition, which may be a quicker way to bring down a home, but ends up in the landfill.

The non-profit group has deconstructed hundreds of homes from Kahala to Kaimuki.

The warehouse also accepts tax-deductible donations of materials — but it's  best to check what they do or do not accept by calling or sending an email to info@reusehawaii.org first.

The last time I checked, they were accepting appliances less than 5 years old, screws, nuts, bolts, and tile measuring at least 25 square feet. They were not accepting cultured marble, aluminum sliding doors, hollow core slab doors, carpet or toilets. Glass, paint, office partitions, vinyl are also not accepted. Click here for more details.

Re-use Hawaii Warehouse is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Visit reusehawaii.org or call 537-2228 to drop off donations.

Window frames of varying sizes available at Re-use Hawaii Warehouse. Photo by Nina Wu.