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Reclaimed Conference Tables

Families are smaller and company boards hold remote video conferences today, but the large table, especially one from reclaimed wood, is far from a thing of the past. Making one involves the same steps as any table (with a metal base), but any difficulties are often amplified with size. This may include potential for wood movement and end splits, added production capacity, especially for clamp and glue up and building a table base that is adequately stable.

The above table for a local downtown BID includes an industrial style i-beam base with a 4′ x 10′ table top from reclaimed native softwoods. The woods have been sanded to reveal the figure without removing all of the aged patina and other characters marks.

Reclaimed Hard Foam

| Passive House, Uncategorized

This lot of reclaimed Polyiso hard foam insulation for the roof was acquired from Gennero Brooks-Church of Eco-Brooklyn from this storage site in Red Hook, Bklyn. The scrap foam doesn’t look pretty – but salvaged and hidden under the roof, it just needs to work – and will, at a fraction of the cost of new.

Super Dry Woods

| Featured, Uncategorized

One quality measure that distinguishes antique lumber is century long air drying. There was no other choice before kiln drying technology was developing 150 years ago. And when it’s said that ‘they don’t make things like they used to’ – lumber is certainly one of them, and air drying is a significant factor in the quality difference.

Reclaimed antique lumber in all it’s forms is super dry – having resided as a building joist or timber for a considerable amount of time. This natural process prevents issues that occur in kiln drying.

Brittle – Kiln dried wood is generally more brittle and prone to chipping. Sometimes referred to as ‘case hardening’, it can lead to the wood pulverizing if the KD process, if not properly controlled. Air dried lumber is more reliable to work, especially with hand tools.
Internal Tensions – There are no internal tensions baked into air dried wood that could make lumber twist after it has been ripped. At other times, this may not be noticeable, or any worse for general use.
Color loss – Short-cutting the seasoning process by kiln drying results in color loss. Kiln dried wood can lose as much as 20% of it’s color, as the kiln drying process kills some of the subtle hues in the grain, which further separates the aesthetic feel of freshly sawn and antique woods.

Kiln drying is faster, kills insects and can set pitch in some resinous softwood species, but none of these benefits apply to antique lumber. Old salvaged woods have remained in long-term dry storage and this investment of time and natural science yields good air dried lumber.

It’s common, however, for moisture to be picked up once the lumber is removed from a structure and then put into yard storage, so returning the woods to a slow kiln for a relatively short period (often under a week) – is needed to bring the moisture content back to equilibrium for an interior environment. The results are worth it.

Although there may be a place for both air and kiln drying methods, like a great piece of cheese or a glass of wine or hand-crafted whiskey, time is quality. We have tens of thousands of board feet of air dried hardwoods and softwoods at Sawkill, ready for a new era of dry and in some instances, wet environments.

Economy Pallet Oak

| Uncategorized

Old barns are a traditional source of reclaimed Oak, but supplies and quality of the wood can be uneven. Oak is the most widely used new hardwood for human use. It’s versatile, durable, easy milled, takes a stain well and has a familiar beauty that is a choice for a wide range of projects – from wine casks to the paneling of a midtown office to common strip flooring and overseas shipping pallets. The virtues of reclaimed Oak extend the appeal further for many renovation projects. Often found with clusters of small nail hole patterns, narrower widths and a second growth figure, Oak sourced from shipping pallets nonetheless provides an economy grade for a reclaimed product. And for the the ceiling application at the Tribeca eatery above, it’s no less green.

Diverse Nature of Reclaimed Barn Wood

| Featured, Uncategorized

As not all chickens, cattle or goats look the same on the farm- not all reclaimed barn Oak ages to the same color and texture. Shades of grey and brown, circular or straight sawn, nail holes, stress cracks and knots – not to mention finishes – can all determine a wide range of surfaces. And since these qualities are only manufactured by time and nature, it’s hard to match a design vision right off the shelf. But often, the woods chosen can realize something different, and equally beloved.