DIY series Salvage Dawgs features Virginia-based salvage company

Since 1999 Black Dog Salvage has been saving southwestern Virginia’s architectural history one house part at a time. The company found its beginnings with the salvage of some of Virginia’s most notable architectural constructs. Since that time, Black Dog has become the temporary resting place for architectural antiques, commercial salvage, and modern society’s rare and unusual cast offs.

By bidding on buildings condemned to be demolished, Black Dog Salvage makes it their mission to secure the remarkable pieces of America's past hidden inside these old structures before they are lost forever. These vintage pieces include everything from doors, windows, mantels and more. Once they are recovered, the guys re-imagine and repurpose these artifacts into a wide range of architectural and decorative elements for clients, from construction workers to high-end interior designers, who use them to restore other historical buildings and add character to newer structures.

Black Dog Salvage is the brainchild of Navy veterans and entrepreneurs; Mike Whiteside and Robert Kulp. Whiteside is a visionary with a love for design challenges; he brings a creative eye to the Black Dog Design Shop, fabricating each one of a kind piece to help customers create their own unique treasures. Robert possesses an exuberant love of history, this coupled with his experience as a class A general contractor and his incredible attention to detail makes him an invaluable resource for owners of period homes.

The salvaged treasures that the crew brings home currently reside in the 40,000-square-foot Memorial Bridge Marketplace & Warehouse in Roanoke, Virginia. Over the last decade, Black Dog Salvage has evolved from a down and dirty salvage warehouse to an interior design marketplace featuring architectural details, custom designs, local artists and vendors. Since 2012 the incredible adventures and creativity of Whiteside, Kulp and the team have been aired on DIY Network’s original documentary series Salvage Dawgs, TV show. From carefully extracting architectural elements from private homes and classic historical properties to disassembling old hospitals and crumbling mills, every show is a fast-paced and fun treasure hunt. With a mission to reclaim, renew and redefine architectural salvage for a sustainable future, this is most definitely a dog’s life.