How to Remove and Reuse Old Wood Materials

The amount and quality of wood products available at today’s building supply centers are a far reach from what used to be considered suitable. Now, what used to be number two or three is usually the only choice. This has brought a new interest in reclaiming old boards and beams to achieve that sought after look of quality of appearance and durability. One of my friends is involved in reclaiming beams and lumber from old cotton mills to be re-cut, tongue and grooved, and sold as flooring. This wood is well over a hundred years old and brings a premium price because of the scarcity of this material.

Because of the heavy machinery involved in the cotton milling process, beams over a foot square and three inch thick planks on the floors allow this wood to be re-planed and grooved for beautiful heart pine floors or furniture. The forests that furnished this beautiful material exist no longer, making this a non -replaceable material. High demand and low availability creates a lucrative market for this product. Because of this, those old buildings and barns are looked at in a new light. My friend found one building that contained enough bird’s eye maple to created almost a score of pallets of this marvelous and rare wood.

My house is floored with twelve and fourteen inch wide flooring planks rescued from an old house built in the 1840’s. These same planks will probably be used again in another hundred years. Sometimes you can obtain some beautiful wood just by removing the building or barn for someone who just wants it gone. Others will charge a small fee or percentage if you want to resell the material.

There are several methods to use in dismantling the particular structure. For some types of wood a pry bar, nail puller, and hammer will do just fine, but woods such as thin tongue and groove paneling will take a little more care. Heart pine and certain other wood will get brittle and split if you attempt to pry it from the wall or floor. In these cases, using a reciprocating saw with a metal cutting blade is the best and fastest method of removal. Usually a hammer and punch will suffice to remove the remainder of the nails or spikes left by cutting them away from the joists or studs.

Before planing,sawing, or grooving the wood, a metal detector is helpful to locate the remainder of nails you may have missed. Keep in mind however, that the residual rust left where the former nail was will also show up on the detector. Close inspection will help you determine if this is the case. This is an important step that will save you money and time on resharpening planer and saw blades.

Reclaiming used wood will not only save you money and add beauty and value to your home, but will also save a vanishing product from certain destruction. Cabinet and furniture makers would love to have many wooden items that are now thrown away or even burned. So get out there and preserve that ancient wood. Not only for your own pleasure and profit, but also for posterity.