RECLAIMED WOOD

Why we do it:

Good for the environment, billions of board feet of wood goes to dumps every year, not only is this a tragic waste of resources, but a lot of this wood is old growth, hundreds of years old that cannot be replicated as a building material.  Not only do we help with the reuse of natural resources but we have a product that cannot be duplicated. The old growth douglas fir, has a (see below)

Why Reclaimed some quotes..

“Antique wood is superior to newly milled wood on two counts: (1) Appearance; and (2) Engineering properties. Just about all antique wood available today is recycled virgin-forest slow-growth timber -- giving it a tight grain structure that is far stronger than today's fast-growth softwoods. In addition, the grain structure and patina of antique boards is far more visually pleasing in many applications than newly cut and milled wood”

Douglas Fir, which is the most readily available reclaimed wood on the West Coast and is also the hardest of the "soft woods". After a building is torn down, the wood is collected, denailed, and milled in some cases.

Some of the advantages to using recycled wood over new. Old wood is generally more stable than newer wood, this leads to fewer problems with swelling and warping. Also, much of the salvaged wood in California is of the quality that you no longer find new. Much of it is old growth which is much more dense, clearer (fewer knots), and has a much richer color than new growth. And last, it is impossible to get the patina of aged wood from anything but old wood