strimmer_13 Posted June 16, 2019 Report Share Posted June 16, 2019 I love a bit of skip digging, whether it's for reuse or fix up and flog. I'm not a tinker by any means, but love watching the rich chuck perfectly good stuff away. Recently got hold of a £800 mower, because the customer bought a ride on and asked me to skip it for him! Only done about 20hours. Anyway what's been your best find? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted June 16, 2019 Report Share Posted June 16, 2019 complete bathroom suite............bath...sink....toilet...cistern...........all the right size and lenghth and the right colour...came out of a flat in brundall next to the chemist...just power washed the suite ...wiped it over with acid...washed agin....fitted.....looked brand new....and it came at the right time....well chuffed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted June 16, 2019 Report Share Posted June 16, 2019 Not particularly valuable, but when I was laying the concrete floor for my workshop, I was pleased to see a skip a street away filled with hardcore, together with a half bag of cement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strimmer_13 Posted June 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2019 9 minutes ago, ditchman said: complete bathroom suite............bath...sink....toilet...cistern...........all the right size and lenghth and the right colour...came out of a flat in brundall next to the chemist...just power washed the suite ...wiped it over with acid...washed agin....fitted.....looked brand new....and it came at the right time....well chuffed Not what I was expecting from you tbh, thought along the lines of industrial tools or sex toys 😂 8 minutes ago, amateur said: Not particularly valuable, but when I was laying the concrete floor for my workshop, I was pleased to see a skip a street away filled with hardcore, together with a half bag of cement. Its gold when you need it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WelshAndy Posted June 16, 2019 Report Share Posted June 16, 2019 Got a Honda izy mower out of skip about a month ago... no blade but £14 off eBay! it starts and runs lovely... amazing what folk throw away... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clakk Posted June 16, 2019 Report Share Posted June 16, 2019 (edited) Our backyard slabs come from a skip 20 of them coz a neighbour changed the colour of his to yellow and just binned a set of 1 year old grey ones ,thanks very much And my mate has a full set of Dormer hss taps and dies as some one had a paddy when his worker just left and threw the lot upto 20mm in the scrap bin in a fit of pique Edited June 16, 2019 by clakk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harnser Posted June 16, 2019 Report Share Posted June 16, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, ditchman said: complete bathroom suite............bath...sink....toilet...cistern...........all the right size and lenghth and the right colour...came out of a flat in brundall next to the chemist...just power washed the suite ...wiped it over with acid...washed agin....fitted.....looked brand new....and it came at the right time....well chuffed Didn’t have you down as the local skip jockey simon . What’s your area ,cantly to Thorpe ,or do you go into the city harnset Edited June 16, 2019 by Harnser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted June 16, 2019 Report Share Posted June 16, 2019 Just now, Harnser said: Didn’t have you down as the local skip jockey simon . harnset well in not really............my mate was doing some plumbing at the flat...and he knew my toilet had a crack in it...and rang me up to say "if you want a plain white loo theres one in my skip next to the chemist"............so i driv up there and had the whole suite....jobs a gooden i thought........ not a professional skip diver tho...(tooo embarassing if someone sees me) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricko Posted June 16, 2019 Report Share Posted June 16, 2019 Belle cement mixer; needed a belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bornfree Posted June 16, 2019 Report Share Posted June 16, 2019 Mine was a Bradbury 2.5 ton trolley jack that just needed topping up with oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel b3 Posted June 16, 2019 Report Share Posted June 16, 2019 Being a bin man (and half magpie), I've had all sorts over the years , several guns , one was a brand new (never even had the box opened)relum telly, and an oil painting of a canal boat thats hanging in my wood store ,sewing machines(another brand new in the box job) , several brand new push bikes, and probably a thousand other things. It's amazing how many folks throw away brand new things. My Mrs is a professional skip diver 😆, she has no problem whatsoever with knocking on someone's door and asking for a rummage. I used to work with a guy that got pretty much everything from the skips at the back of the merry hill shopping centre, including , lots of food(always still in date), his bike , his computer, his phone, his clothes, he even used to eat feral pigeons that he caught on the balcony of his flat 😲. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
washerboy Posted June 16, 2019 Report Share Posted June 16, 2019 My last year of school I would bunk off a few lessons and go out with my step dad when he was a skip driver for a waste paper recycling factory. Every month or so we would visit a scout hut that the lads filled a free skip and the company would give them the money. It was a great sause of reading material, loads of shooting magazines, hare and hound, I was mad keen on trucks and there was always loads of truck and driver mags.. And believe it or not every once in a while a bundle of dirty mags would appear 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted June 16, 2019 Report Share Posted June 16, 2019 Recently three trailer loads of hardcore just when I was wondering where I could get some. It did a near neighbour a good turnas well because he was going to have to take it twenty miles to dispose. I'm talking 15 ton trailers here. Brought up during the last war on the adage , waste not want not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted June 16, 2019 Report Share Posted June 16, 2019 The main source of my metal store in the shed was the scrap bins at the engineering companies where I had worked. One excellent find was several hundred 4' x 2' sheets of 16g aluminium with plastic signage bonded to it - the firm's metal scrappy wouldn't take it - "contaminated" - but I have found lots of uses for it over the years from roofing rabbit hutches, sheds and stables to making a tack cupboard and filling holes in fences. Many of the mods to my bike are made from stainless or aluminium offcuts from the scrap bin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mice! Posted June 16, 2019 Report Share Posted June 16, 2019 Can't match some of the finds above, I've also had plenty of flags moved in the faithful old estate. Skips normally end up costing me money, oh look two concrete posts I'll have them, now need one more, some panels, soil decking plants..... 36 minutes ago, amateur said: The main source of my metal store in the shed was the scrap bins at the engineering companies where I had worked. Some of the stuff in the skips where i am now would make your eyes water☹ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted June 16, 2019 Report Share Posted June 16, 2019 As a kid we used to skip diving for bikes prams anything to knock up some fun wheels. Once done a engineering job in a scrap yard when they were tasked with clearing a used tool emporium. Got loads of stuff that my wife eventually threw away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Boggy Posted June 17, 2019 Report Share Posted June 17, 2019 My neighbour across the road is a Chippy and always has plenty of off cuts of wood that he tells me I can just help myself if there's anything that I want. He went away for a couple of days and had left some reasonable lengths of 4x2 in the skip. I thought, they'll come in handy, will take them later. Suddenly, to my dismay, a van pulls up, guy gets out and goes to the skip. Another van pulls up. Second guy has words with the first guy and hands him some money. I thought that my neighbour had arranged this deal to take place while he was away and only wished I'd got there first. However, I learned later that both were complete strangers to my neighbour and to each other, the first having the wherewithal to SELL my neighbour's rubbish to someone else. I was too slow there, could have earnt a few bob, but would never have thought of it. OB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobba Posted June 17, 2019 Report Share Posted June 17, 2019 Interesting topic. I have been under the impression (perhaps mistaken) that skip raiding can be regarded as theft. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strimmer_13 Posted June 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2019 30 minutes ago, Bobba said: Interesting topic. I have been under the impression (perhaps mistaken) that skip raiding can be regarded as theft. Any ideas? You have to ask for permission from the skip hirer or owner I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spandit Posted June 17, 2019 Report Share Posted June 17, 2019 Found a CTEK XS3600 battery charger in a skip, full working order. Wasn't too thrilled, though, because it was mine and my mother-in-law had thrown it away because it was in her eyeline and not currently plugged into something. The other stuff she threw out would make you cry... 110V 9" Makita angle grinder with transformer for example. She threw out all of her late husband's plumbing bits and then promptly had to buy a load more to fix some plumbing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted June 17, 2019 Report Share Posted June 17, 2019 1 hour ago, strimmer_13 said: You have to ask for permission from the skip hirer or owner I believe. True. I was always very happy to pay scrap price for the offcuts that I liberated, however the ali sheet came gratis - the firm were going to have to pay to dump it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted June 17, 2019 Report Share Posted June 17, 2019 10 hours ago, figgy said: As a kid we used to skip diving for bikes prams anything to knock up some fun wheels. Once done a engineering job in a scrap yard when they were tasked with clearing a used tool emporium. Got loads of stuff that my wife eventually threw away. that should be made a criminal offence.........with a possible jail sentance and councelling for the husband........... 2 hours ago, spandit said: Found a CTEK XS3600 battery charger in a skip, full working order. Wasn't too thrilled, though, because it was mine and my mother-in-law had thrown it away because it was in her eyeline and not currently plugged into something. The other stuff she threw out would make you cry... 110V 9" Makita angle grinder with transformer for example. She threw out all of her late husband's plumbing bits and then promptly had to buy a load more to fix some plumbing. That is 1st degree muther-in-law...........and should be subject to the full force of the law......... us men have to endure some awful criminal acts against us....all the support groups (pubs) are closing down...so now we have to put up in silence...the stress these unthinking acts cause is terrible.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbriar Posted June 17, 2019 Report Share Posted June 17, 2019 A few years back, I built myself a greenhouse from windows that were being removed from a house a few doors down. I also built myself a large shed/cabin/hidey hole completely from salvaged and scrounged materials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_b_wales Posted June 17, 2019 Report Share Posted June 17, 2019 Years ago, my local police station offices were having a refit. Outside, in 3 skips, were table's, chairs, filing cabinets and other office items. I went in to the station and asked the desk attendant if I could have a few things frrom them. She had to phone someone to ask, and I was then given permission to 'fill my boots'. As I only had a small car then, I took what I could (2 journey's) and still have one or two things left to this day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raja Clavata Posted June 17, 2019 Report Share Posted June 17, 2019 Shortened front garden wall to get more cars on the drive which needed back-filling with paving blocks - a guy round the corner was throwing a load out - impossible to tell the difference once laid and sanded. Small things can make you very happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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