Riding the Rails

Brendan O’Reilly likes to dig through trash. What someone else tosses aside, O’Reilly transforms into treasures for the custom houses he builds. “I go junkyard hunting a lot and when I find cool pieces I grab them,” says the owner of Stowe, Vt.-based Gristmill Builders. For this design/build project, O’Reilly used these storefront doors salvaged from a railroad yard. After stripping off paint and coating the carved wood with a linseed oil mixture, the doors were hung using antique barn door tracks also rescued from the garbage heap. The glass-topped doors were ideal for connecting the family room to the kitchen because they mitigate noise while allowing light to flow freely through the rooms. Several other doors in the house were similarly found and refurbished. O’Reilly adds that using old pieces is a fun way to be environmentally conscious while giving new houses a little history.