Troy Vialpando will finally be able to use his dryer.

On a recent day, he found a new dryer vent for only $4 at ReStore, Salt Lake Valley Habitat for Humanity's new home improvement thrift store. It was a price Vialpando, who has been out of work for 14 months, could feel good about in more ways than one.

"It's going to help out the community," Vialpando said of the store.

ReStore not only sells new and gently used home improvement items to the public; it also puts its proceeds toward building homes for medium and low-income families. Salt Lake Valley Habitat for Humanity hopes the store will eventually fund construction of several new homes a year for deserving families.

The store is the third of its kind to open in Utah and the first to open in Salt Lake County.

"We felt it was a way for us to reach out to the community, especially the low-income community, so they may be able to buy low-cost goods to repair their houses," said Stephen Tagliaferri, executive director of Salt Lake Valley Habitat for Humanity.

But the new 30,000-square-foot store will surely be any thrifty, do-it-yourselfer's dream.

Customers can buy a bathroom sink unit, complete with a granite top, for $60. A stylish glass pendulum light fixture sells for $16 to $20. A 25-pound box of new, brand-name wood screws sells for $40 and boxes of reduced-price, neutral-colored tile fills the back of the store.

"I'm impressed with the variety of all the things they have," said Danny King, who perused ReStore's aisles recently.

Tagliaferri said the store is also a chance to be environmentally friendly.

"Typically what [people] do is throw it into a Dumpster and it goes into landfill," he said of home improvement items and old appliances and fixtures. "Now it's being reused and recycled back into the community."

Now, much of the store's merchandise is new, donated by True Value, which recently held a convention at the Salt Palace. After the convention, True Value donated 18 semi-trailers full of new, display products to ReStore. Once those items run out, the store will mainly rely on other donations.

Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah also gave Habitat money to help it open the ReStore, Tagliaferri said.

The store accepts all kinds of new and gently used items, such as appliances, doors, cabinets, electrical pieces, hardware, lawn and garden supplies, furniture, lumber, roofing materials, tools and windows, among many other things.

The store will even retrieve items from the homes of those who wish to donate.

It's a winning situation for both Habitat for Humanity and the store's customers, Tagliaferri said. Stephanie Carter, the store's assistant manager, said so far customers have been thrilled.

"They're all really grateful they got such a good deal," Carter said.