Part of Phase 1: First Month
Salvage turns things already built into things you need, instead of sourcing and processing raw material from scratch: a demolished house gives up denailed lumber, sorted metal, and reusable glass, and a dead vehicle gives up a 12-volt battery, an alternator good for 50-150 amps, and a kilometer or more of copper wire. The two jobs here split by what’s being taken apart — a standing structure first, then a vehicle or machine — because the hazards, tools, and even the body position (upright and mobile versus bent over an engine bay) are different enough to plan for separately.
Structures come first in practice, not just in this list. Before touching a board, walk the whole building: a wall leaning more than 5 degrees from vertical, a foundation crack wider than 1 cm, or char deeper than 2 cm on a load-bearing member means that building doesn’t get entered, whatever is inside. Past that line the work is systematic — denail lumber with a cat’s paw and claw hammer along the nail’s own axis, sort metal with a magnet (steel sticks, aluminum and copper don’t), and pull copper wiring from the panel end outward. Pre-1980 construction can also be carrying asbestos in floor tile, pipe wrap, or textured ceiling coat, which is a respirator-and-containment problem, not a hammer problem. Work with a partner, one inside and one outside, and keep two exit routes open the whole time.
Vehicles are the second job, and they need Fuel Siphoning & Storage from Phase 0 done first — stripping a vehicle with an unknown, still-pressurized fuel system is how that job gets dangerous. A dead car is worth it for the battery (600-800 watt-hours, enough to run LED lighting for a week), the alternator, and the wiring harness, on top of springs, bearings, and belts that carry into later mechanical builds. Its hazards are different from a building’s: hydrogen gas off a charging battery, sulfuric acid in the cells, an airbag that stays live until the battery has been disconnected for ten minutes, and fuel lines still holding 40-60 PSI after the engine is off. A hybrid or EV high-voltage pack (200-800V, marked by orange cabling) is the one part of this section to leave alone without specialized training — the 12V accessory battery is the only part of that system that’s safe to touch.
Both jobs assume Tool Identification & Repair from Phase 0 is already behind you. This is where those tools get used, not where you learn to use them.
Structural Salvage
Lumber, metal, glass, and hardware recovered from a damaged or abandoned building, sorted by what survives reuse and what doesn’t.
Vehicle & Machinery Salvage
Batteries, alternators, wiring, and mechanical parts pulled from a vehicle or machine that will never run again, plus the specific dangers of taking one apart.