Reclaimed Hardwood Flooring
Also referred to as antique wood, reclaimed wood flooring is made from wood that has been salvaged from buildings that have outlived their usefulness. Wood is reclaimed from old barns, mills, warehouses, and other structures that have been deconstructed, with care taken to preserve as much of the useful material as possible.
Reclaimed wood flooring is full of old character. Each board can have naturally occurring markings like knots, worm holes, cracks, and mineral streaks, but they also hold leftover effects from their previous use: saw marks and nail holes, dents and color variations. Your reclaimed wood floor could be made up of one specific species or a multitude of species to give it even more variation. One thing is sure of a reclaimed wood floor: it has a look and feel that cannot be duplicated.
How is reclaiming different from recycling?
The term recycling describes the process of altering the physical form of a resource. For example, aluminum cans are recycled to produce aluminum for totally different products. The cans themselves are not reused. Many products today have a percentage of “recycled content” in them.
How is deconstruction different from demolition?
Deconstruction is the process of dismantling a building with the intention of saving all useful materials for reuse. Demolition is the typical way most buildings are removed today. It is fast, but few if any materials are saved. Demolition is very destructive and wasteful, generating huge amounts of landfill debris.
What makes reclaimed lumber “green”?
By saving the wood from destruction, we relieve pressure on our forests to generate more trees. In addition, we keep materials out of landfills and give our wood a new life for future generations. Learn more about the environmental benefits of hardwood flooring.
