A Beautiful Wood Floor from Days of Yore

Imagine a wood floor with an engaging, unique appearance unlike anything you might find in a lumberyard or home center. Imagine that not a single tree was cut down for this very special wood floor. Imagine it cost you the same or less than a traditional wood floor. Now stop imagining: that floor exists in the form of reclaimed wood planks or strips.

Nail marks and knots add character in this reclaimed Douglass fir floor.

(All photos courtesy of Pioneer Millworks, www.pioneer millworks.com.)

Reclaimed wood flooring is salvaged from dilapidated buildings across the country, as part of a process called deconstruction. If you’re the type that likes to roll up your sleeves and get down to it, you can find entire reclaimed floors in the rough, salvaged directly out of an older building. The flooring comes bundled at prices much lower than what new flooring would run you. The catch is that you’ll have to sand down and refinish the wood and, of course, you’ll need to find a batch that includes as much or more wood than you need. In fact, when working with raw salvaged flooring in odd lots, you should add 20 percent to your materials estimate to account for damaged or otherwise unusable pieces. The best deals can be found at local architectural salvage companies such as Better Homes and Garbage in Minneapolis, Minnesota (www.bhandgarbage.com), Heritage Salvage in Petaluma, California (www.heritagesalvage.com), and Old Wood Workshop in Pomfret Center, Connecticut (www.oldwoodworkshop.com). You can find local or regional salvage companies in the Yellow Pages under Building Salvage or Architectural Salvage, or online, by searching “salvaged wood flooring”.

Reclaimed mixed hardwood planks make for

an unusual and handsome wood floor.

The potential flea-market prices are a draw, but the real allure of salvaged wood is the chance to latch onto one-of-kind heartwoods and species no longer available on the open market. Depending on where the floor was salvaged and how old it is, it may be a species of local tree that is no longer widely grown, or was largely eradicated by disease or pests. Even if the flooring is simply an antique version of traditional favorites like oak, it will look much different from the modern version. The increase of carbon dioxide in the environment over the last century means trees grow quicker than ever before. Antique wood floors often feature an open, flowing grain pattern unlike any you’ll find in newly sawn flooring.

The salvaged marketplace also yields special treasures such as “tobacco barn flooring”, wood subjected to decades of intense heat and vapors that give it a completely unique coloration and alluring appearance. Older milling processes also leave their enchanting tattoos on many wood floors—circular or semi-circular saw marks are the most common. Antiquated installation processes such as face nailing and pegging also mark some reclaimed wood flooring.

The enchanting surface appearance 

of a reclaimed grey elm wood floor.

Even if you don’t fancy working with rough bundles of strips or planks, you can still enjoy the beauty and ecological benefit of a reclaimed wood floor. One step removed from general salvage operations with their constantly changing inventories, reclaimed flooring companies specialize in antique wood that they salvage, mill, strip and/or refinish as necessary, prior to sale. Companies such as Elmwood Reclaimed Timber (www.elmwoodreclaimedtimber.com), Pioneer Millworks (pioneermillworks.com), Mountain Lumber Company (www.mountainlumber.com), and TerraMai (www.terramai.com) all supply premium grade reclaimed flooring in a range of species, styles and widths. Some offer specialty appearances, such as quarter- or half-sawn wood, and many will ship to your location.

Regardless of the source, reclaimed wood flooring is about as green as you can get.  Lay reclaimed wood strips in your living room and you spare the trees that would have been cut down to make a new floor. Not only that, you also remove the reclaimed from the waste stream, where it would have wound up had it not been salvaged.

Regardless of whether you’re shopping for reclaimed or new wood flooring, always look for the Forest Stewardship Council label. The FSC is an independent non-profit that promotes sustainable forestry practices and certifies that products carrying the FSC label come from responsibly managed forests.