A Company History Of Legacy Vintage Building Materials

Early Days

Much motivation for the genesis of the Legacy enterprise came from Sven’s philosophy that landfills are a costly and wasteful alternative for re-useable building materials and house-wares. It is estimated that at least twenty percent of landfill material is “waste” from renovation, demolition and new construction projects. Compounding this already grave landfill situation is the unnecessary harvesting of trees and resulting erosion of the world’s forest reserves, animal habitats and green spaces -ostensibly to meet the demand for scarce timbers and lumber. Legacy has in its brief existence shipped countless tons of salvaged timbers to Alberta, Montana, Wyoming, Texas, Virginia; lumber to New York; bricks to Bermuda; tin ceiling to Georgia and California and iron fireplace surrounds and accessories to Missouri and all the western provinces.

Over recent years generally adopted recycling programs have lead to an enhanced awareness regarding the concept of reclaimed building materials – especially for artifacts of historic interest. However, it is a time of accelerating change for all regions within the range of urban sprawl. In these areas the interests of land developers and preservationists are, by definition, frequently polarized. Relentless economic pressure and disparate philosophical views ensure that this friction will never cease. Legacy provides an environmentally sound salve to some of the harsh realities of progress. Meritorious architectural elements need not be lost “forever”. The integration of reclaimed architectural artifacts will go a long way to preserve the fine heritage that is Ontario’s hallmark. Legacy’s old freight shed, itself an interesting building, is now a ”safe harbour” for select materials that survive the demolition of our early structures. Legacy adopts the view is that we don’t inherit our environment from our ancestors, but rather borrow it from our children.