My last post focused on salvaged wood, but it also served as an introduction to our definition of reclaimed wood. As mentioned then, we define reclaimed wood as material that has already had a life of use, but that is not necessarily unusable. So, reclaimed wood can come from the deconstruction of any type of building (be it barns, sheds, factories, houses of worship), or from more unusual sources such as sail boats, stadium bleachers, furniture, sport court flooring, rail road lines, wine tanks, city water tanks, carriages, crates, shipping containers, etc.

Reclaimed wood not only helps us avoid cutting down trees, but it also allows us to reach back into our past. The inventory that exists is made up of really old wood, but even back when it was new wood, it was sourced from old-growth forests. With some tree species, such as American chestnut and hemlock, it is virtually impossible to find or to cut down old-growth trees, be it because of insect damage, disease, or bad management practices. Reclaimed old-growth wood is therefore a way for us to continue to enjoy the aesthetics of this much more attractive material.

We have found some truly amazing products in this category and we love to dip into it when working on a project. One of our most-used products is reclaimed barn board. What we particularly like about it is the variety in which it is available. The board size, the thickness, the color, the aging, and the wood species all vary depending on where the material is sourced.

Barn wood comes in four predominant colors: gray/silver (above left), red (above center), white (above right), and brown (not pictured). The brown and gray/silver hues occur naturally; they develop according to the conditions under which the wood has aged. Red and white, however, result from paint applied to the wood. On raw boards, the paint is usually in terrible shape; it’s completely cracked and peeling. These boards literally shed paint. That is part of the aesthetic appeal, but we are always careful about using these colors. Paint in its old incarnation was heavily laced with lead, and white barn siding carries particularly high contents of the metal. Since our applications are usually in environments that purvey food, we’re not able to use this product too much for fear of food contamination. So, designers have to keep this in mind when looking at white and red siding. What we have been able to source instead is wire-brushed or skip-jacked siding. This means that the seller literally takes a wire brush to the boards and scrapes off the paint. The wood develops a different texture, obviously, and while the paint is mostly removed, enough of it is left that you can tell its original color, but the danger is mitigated.

In its natural form, barn wood is rough. It’s raw, damaged, worn… you name it. Here are some of the things we have learned from working with this product:

• If we purchase a batch, the color will be pretty uniform, but no two boards ever look the same.
• Board lengths always vary! If we purchase 200 board feet, we will get that quantity, but each board will typically be between 6 – 10 feet long. For suppliers, raw means raw; we get what they have. Any supplier will be more than happy to mill the boards to a specific length, but always for an additional cost.
• Widths and thicknesses also vary. We always make it a point to ask for full details. We’ve seen widths ranging from 6” – 12” and thickness ranges of 3/4” and 5/4”.
• The boards in a batch will typically be of the same width, but it does not mean that all of it can be put to an intended use. Edges are never smooth, so that if the application calls for a smooth edge, it has to be trimmed down. Depending on the condition of the edge and on how dressed you want the board to be, it’s easy to lose two inches off the width of the board. The same consideration must be taken into account if the intended application calls for a smooth surface.
• And speaking of surfaces, raw board does come with random holes, knots, and even nails! If you don’t want nails in the wood, you have to specify it. Again, raw means raw.

This lack of uniformity is what makes working with this material so much fun. In a sense, you never know what you’re going to get. However, if you want the general aesthetic without putting any serious effort into it, suppliers do sell items like pre-finished, tongue and groove flooring, timbers, etc. You just have to ask for availability.

Here are just a few suppliers of reclaimed wood based on U.S. regions.

Northeast:

• Longleaf Lumber (Massachusetts)
• Pioneer Millworks (New York)

Mid-Atlantic:

• Appalachian Woods (Virginia)

South:

• The Woodshop (Texas)

Mid-West:

• Carlson’s Barnwood Company (Illinois)
• Elmwood Reclaimed Timber (Missouri)

Pacific Northwest:

• AltruWood (Oregon)

Pacific:

• Heritage Salvage (California)
• TerraMai (California)
• Restoration Timber (California)

Do you have a favorite reclaimed wood supplier or know of someone in your part of the country? Some outfits can be very small operations, so we’d welcome any hints or clues. Thanks!

related posts:

• May 19, 2010 -- on tour: PDX sustainable materials (0)
• May 16, 2010 -- on tour: PDX (1)
• April 19, 2010 -- stories of sustainability: Interstyle Ceramic & Glass (0)
• April 12, 2010 -- product preview: Ecor® (1)
• April 11, 2010 -- review: the ZENERGY House opens (3)