![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63165884e59a915ab352429f/9e47a376-8af8-4171-965a-a844e6ee3ade/Nick_construction+site.jpg)
The Dream.
It all started one hot and humid summer ...
… when Nick Francis and his family moved into a fixer-upper in an older neighborhood. Using Nick’s experience in woodworking (and a few YouTube videos about plumbing), Nick and family began creating their ideal home.
Over the years, Nick has developed a strong “distaste for waste” so during their home demolition projects, something didn’t sit right when he saw the amount of usable wood that was going to be thrown away. Nick started to keep these scraps to use in the construction phase in other parts of the house.
This is when Nick began to think that lumber waste is a problem that can be solved.
Later, Nick started noticing other construction sites in his neighborhood had large dumpsters filled with usable scrap wood, wood that was headed for the landfill. After seeing three or four of these dumpsters on one street, Nick thought to himself, “I could make something out of that.” He approached a worker at one of the sites and requested the wood; the worker had no problem with Nick taking the scrap off their hands.
So, enlisting the help of his family, Nick borrowed a truck and took home all the wood that he could fit in his garage - it hardly made a dent in the scrap pile. Back at home, Nick began to build basic furniture such as a kid-sized table and chairs, benches, coffee tables, and stools. His friends and family were shocked that these high quality pieces were completely made using scrap wood that would have otherwise been thrown out with the trash.
The next step for Nick to think about was, “What am I gonna do with all this furniture?” Since he is motivated by helping others, he decided to reach out to a few existing nonprofits, such as New Life Furniture Bank. They collect used furniture and donate it to people in need. Now, Nick is working closely with New Life to send his finished furniture to those who really need it.
Combining his desire to reduce waste, drive for helping others, and skills in woodworking, Nick created Scrap2Home in hopes of giving something back to his community.