Best Hardware/DIY: Community Forklift

This cavernous warehouse contains piles of surplus and salvaged home materials donated by homeowners and businesses alike. Outreach and education director Ruthie Mundell describes a clientele spanning 20-somethings to “men in work boots looking for a good deal on electrical sockets.”

Only in D.C.: Patrons have discovered everything from brooms from the Capitol to 1960s “Mad Men”-era doors and chandeliers from the Watergate penthouse.

» Community Forklift, 4671 Tanglewood Dr., Edmonston; 301-985-5180.

» SECOND PLACE: Frager’s Hardware, 1115 Pennsylvania Ave., SE; 202-543-6157. (Eastern Market)

» THIRD PLACE: Habitat Re-Store, 7770-G Richmond Hwy., Alexandria; 703-360-6700.

» Explore a full list of the year’s winners at the Best of 2010 index.

Written by Express contributor Rebecca Milfeld
Photo by Kristoffer Tripplaar