White House Builders Lumber & Supply, White House, Tn., has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Its retail operation, White House Home Center, has been hit with about $1.2 million in bad debt over the last two-plus years as its builder customers began defaulting on payments.

To recover, owner Jeff Christian has canceled most of its builder accounts and gradually cut back staff from 34 to seven. A year ago, White House started diversifying into constructing its own homes and selling surplus materials, with plans for regular suplus auctions.

Christian hopes to emerge as a diversified surplus warehouse with lumberyard and hardware store.