Scroungers Paradise — Attraction in Asheville

If you wanna find gold, you gotta dig a little!

Yeah they have interesting and exotic woods, you’ll read and find that to be true. They also have lots of surplus contractor supplies; wood flooring, all kinds of tile, boxes of nails/bolts, drawer pulls, table legs, hinges, decorative cast iron poles & dozens of different styled toppers, pallets of welding supplies, 3in pvc ball valves, metal/wicker mesh, industrial rolls of plastic sheeting, hundreds of wood working drill/router bits (most still in their protective plastic or unwrapped) and all kinds of other neat goodies for those who are looking for materials, tools or supplies.

They also have so much more with their one offs! Want an original machining part from the Rolls Royce factory? They have one. Need a 50lb ship yard eye bolt? They have 20. Looking for a 6ft single strand pully wheel and 200ft of galvanized aircraft cable to go with it? They got that too. Their heavy metal is seriously impressive, and often overlooked. For crying out loud they have shelves of unused, still in wrapping radiator heat exchangers right next to 400, 600, 1000lb industrial roller chains, which is across the aisle from the 3 ton John Deer Diesel engine! Where are you gonna find that kind of mix anywhere else?

I love the maps. They have over 75 map boxes filled with USGS quads (mostly alphabetized) from everywhere around the nation. There are boxes of index maps, Natural Resources Survey map, Defense Mapping Agency quads and state maps the size of walls. I’ve given them as gifts, cut them up as cards, and have a couple under glass as decoration.

Just recently I found a drawer filled with DMA projector transparencies, which was delightful surprise for me and the owner!! I gave one as a gift, and have some attached to windows as privacy screens. They are so cool to look at, and their detail/resolution are perfect! Excellent condition! These types of maps aren’t made any more, nor easily obtainable or cheap.

I wouldn’t have found it, if I didn’t dig. Which is the golden rule of Scroungers Paradise for me. If I don’t get my hands dirty, scrounger around, and “look under that thing,” then I’m missing out...

Mark and the crew at Scroungers Paradise are just incredible! We go in and never know what we’ll find BUT you always know it’ll be fantastic. They’re very helpful, priced reasonably, and are experts in sourcing unique wood and other hard to find, one of a kind, unique pieces to distinguish your project. We have a 70yr old farmhouse that needed some TLC but we wanted to stay authentic to the original charm. First, we dressed the mantle in Bolivian Rosewood. Next we opened the wall between our dining and kitchen, using morado butcher block of the same rosewood. Scroungers had enough of the wood that we could waterfall the countertops and swap a cabinet for open shelving. It modernized our home while creating even more charm! We then carried this into a small buffet in the dining room and used the wood for bow ties on the new dining table top (our first time working with such a large slab and epoxy) and it really helped to pull the various wood species together throughout the main areas of the house. Lastly, we coated the beam between the two rooms to match the mantle in the living room. We know it took YEARS and several trips to South America to source and WOW are we ever grateful! Our home is truly transformed thanks to...

I've been going to Scrounger's since it was located over in Fletcher. It is unbelievable how much variety Mark manages to get into the place. When I need hardwood for a furniture project, this is the first place I turn. Of course, Mark is a broker, so he doesn't have a regular and consistent stock. He stocks whatever he can make a good deal on. But he regularly has mahogany, ipe, Spanish cedar, and similar woods. His price is usually 1/3 to 1/2 of what you can find elsewhere. The place is well worth a visit, even if you're not in the market for what he has at the moment. It's just plain fun to wander around and see what you might come up with. If you are in business doing flooring or decking, you owe it to yourself to stay in touch with Mark. He can cut your materials costs...