Reclaimed lumber and beams is an important resource. Wood, at one time was the primary building material and was used to make multi-story industrial buildings. As these buildings begin to come down, we are finding some of the best wood ever produced in these buildings. This material is in many forms. Here is a breakdown of whats available:
Antique
Wood considered antique, is wood that has a vintage prior to the early 1900s. This wood was primarily produced from the original forest of the US and is from some of the best timber stands in the world. These buildings made with post and beam construction include barns, warehouses, and industrial complexes such as factories, textile mills, and office buildings.
Salvage
Salvaged wood could be more recently produced wood, but is now being repurposed by being milled again and used in another format. Sometimes this is in the form of repurposing pallet wood, or from more recent buildings being torn down and the lumber re-used. Lumber from these formats are not necessarily the quality of wood you would find in the antique category.
Sinker
When our original stands of timber were being harvested during the years from between 1815 – 1925, the standard method of transportation to the large lumber mills was by transporting the logs to the nearest creek or rivers for floating in a raft to the mill that was perhaps many miles downstream. To insure they got paid for their work, the lumberjack crews would brand the end of the logs with their unique brand that was registered at their county or parish’s courthouse. Not all of the logs made the trip. Many of these logs were very dense, having grown for years in a dense natural forest stand, so their growth rings were close together. So, some of these more dense logs simply were too heavy once they were in the water to float and sunk to the bottom where they stayed for over 100 years. Others were hung up on sandbars or ripped loose as they bumped into the bank on their way down the stream. Over time these logs began to populate the bottoms of rivers and lakes in the U.S. During this time the water in which they were submerged moved in and out of them and the minerals in the water got lodged in the cells of the wood. Once they are found and brought to the surface and dried and milled, these minerals from the water cause a change in the color of the wood. So this wood is antique, but it also may be a unique color. This adds an additional dimension to this wood.
Barnwood
Barnwood is wood that has a great patina from being exposed to the sunlight on the side of a barn or from being on the floor of a hayloft or the walls of storage rooms inside the barn. This wood will have nail holes and a great brown to gray patina and usually with circular saw marks from being milled by a local sawmill. Much of this wood is mixed hardwood, but will also contain some pine and cypress, as any available lumber in the area would be used to make the structure. This wood is desired for the patina and can be used as is, or milled for constructing new furniture or walls.
Any of these forms of reclaimed wood is a valid choice for your project, depending on the look you desire. We can help you source the right wood for your project from any of these categories, providing samples and quotes for your project based on the requirements and volumes you submit to us. Send your inquiry to processingwood@gmail.com or call 601-668-9697.