Bauer Brothers Salvage

I was looking for a piece of scrap channel iron to use to repair the frame of an old trailer I was working on. Discount steel told me it would be $38 for a 10 foot length.As I was leaving I remembered Bauer Brothers salvage, 2 blocks away. I've been in there once before and remembered that they have pretty much everything you could think of from industrial to household materials. After looking around the back lot, I found a piece that I thought would work. It was an old piece o channel steel, rusty and twisted, but I thought I could make it work. I found one of the brothers, showed him the piece, and asked the price. He told me $8 per foot X 10 foot long equals $80. I informed him I had looked at the same thing at discount steel, Although there's was new, wasn't rusted and twisted and they were willing to cut it to the correct size for me for $38. He said the impossible.Last time I was in I was looking for a sheet of 6 foot X 7 foot 3/8 inch diamond plate steel for the deck of this trailer I'm repairing. They have a whole pallet of it sitting outside in the back lot. It is old, rusty, and some of it is bent, But I thought I could make a piece work for the trailer deck. When I asked one of the brothers the price he told me $10 per square foot = $420.After checking around, several steel suppliers told me I could get a brand new piece cheaper than that, And they be willing to cut it to the exact dimensions I need it.This warehouse has everything you could probably need, but you're going to pay for it. I am not sure if these brothers actually have a price list or if they're just pulling numbers out of the air. If you're restoring an old house and need a rare piece, they probably have it. But you're going to pay for it. Do yourself a favor and shop around, check some prices before you go.

Was having a bad day and one of their drivers demonstrated a beautiful act of kindness. I jotted the name of the company from the truck and can tell you kind people work for their company. Thank you.

I have a love hate relationship with Bauer Brothers.Get ready to feel like you're dealing with Tony Soprano and his crew when you go in there to shop! The more expensive your item is and the more desperate you are, the more you're going to feel like you're making a payment to The Family.If you have an old building and you need to match a radiator or a door, this is your best (and possibly your only) option. And they know it.They have thousands of square feet to explore. Actually, I usually get lost--literally. It isn't comfortable. It's super cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Get ready to do some walking.My biggest beef with these guys is the pricing. I feel that they, basically, have a monopoly on what you need and you're going to get screwed. If you need a small item, no big deal. If you need something bigger, get ready...don't bend over and hold onto your wallet.I was looking at a HUGE item...but it was a totally discretionary purchase. I was quoted $1500 by one of the brothers. I was pretty sure I wanted it, but I really had to think about it because of the size, the weight, and the amount of work involved. (I knew it wasn't going anywhere because I'd seen it sitting around for over a year.) I went back about 3 weeks later to make the purchase and the second brother quoted me $3000! So the price doubled in three weeks. On top of that, he acted like he didn't believe me about the previous quote and in any case, he didn't give a crap. "Sorry Mr. Soprano, I didn't mean no disrespect! That's what Paulie quoted me 3 weeks ago--honest!"In summary, I'd say five stars for the selection, one star for the inconsistent, mafia pricing.-Daddy Maxx Retro

You will find what you need here, just might spend some time looking around.They had a prison door one time I went...Prices are good and staff is very helpful (no idea how they know everything they have).Only advice is stay away from the pretzel logs in the office..oh and being a check or cash..they prefer those payment methods.

Wow, the prices are so overinflated you'd think you were buying gold bullion. Crazy since they get the majority of their inventory for FREE thru the City of Minneapolis. Few items are actually marked but Just know ALL posted prices (everything to clarify) is negotiable - if you can find someone to talk to. If you don't like the price, ask someone else, or come back later -- it really is random, frustrating, unprofessional and a horrible business plan but obviously a profitable one for them! The basement is obviously wet and hard to even enter with the mold smell. The "brothers" and others on the floor don't seem to know much about much. Sometimes you can find a treasure but those are few and far between. Don't go in Winter since the building has no heat... your feet will freeze before the rest of you. They seem to be successful since but how hard it is to put a value on free??!! Don't go near closing time, you may not find your way out before the doors lock. Good luck out there......

The tile entry floor of our 1925 built duplex had cracked over the years from settling. We had a group level and stabilize it, only to have a tile floor with many missing tiles. Looking at tiles at Bauer Brothers we found the perfect match in size and color to replace those missing and now have a perfect entry floor. Thank you Bauer Brothers for having tiles not available at any tile shop or big box building supply store. This is not the first time I have found great building products here from years ago and I am sure it won't be my last.

This place is a very unique and an anthropologist dream!!! Seen so many early 1900 artifacts. A titch expensive but loved seeing all the wonderful items they had!!!

I just scored a fabulous vintage alcove bathtub. Both the front desk staff and owner were terrific help -- friendly and knowledgeable. The warehouse is a treasure trove. Go visit!

We hD. 1930's Pedestal sink left from remodeling in very good condition. We did not want to just throw it in a dumpster. I called and asked if Bauers wanted the sink and they even came out to the house and picked it up. Hope fully the sink will find it a new home.

So, this place is pretty intense. Intense with amount of stuff and the smell (according to my lovely Mother, said smell is MOLD.....she has a VERY sensitive nose and can almost always pin point what it so stinky). My husband was on the hunt for old, vintage register covers for our 1920's house in lieu of the ones bought in the '80s. Takin' it back, old school....oh yeah.So, this warehouse of a store has so much "stuff" it is somewhat intimidating if you don't know your way around. One friendly employee, not sure of his name, offered us a tour of the joint. I think he saw the frightened look on my Mother's face and wanted to give her an "experience"......I was happy he did because he knew the ins and outs of that place. Isle and isle of old radiators, old radiator covers, hinges, doors, big huge built-in corner cabinets, HUGE Pillars that looks like they were taken from some place in Greece. Just some really odd stuff. We walked by a really long sink. My Mother inquired "Is that a cadaver table? It looks like that is the drain for the blood." Affirmative. The guy giving us the tour said yes, it very well was. Ewwwwwwwwwwe. Sick. Moving on with the tour....we saw the biggest washing machine I've ever seen in my life. It belonged to an old hospital and was used to wash their linens. Then, the University had a lot of relics in there too- such as what looked to be the first studio quality video camera on wheels. Just really odd stuff. Interesting. But odd.Anyway, we came in just before closing time, probably spend about 45 min in there and that was plenty for my Mom and I...who are sensitive to smells however I think my Dad and husband could have spent a couple days in there rummaging around. To each their own.