Reason #10:  Age

Reclaimed wood is antique wood, old wood.  Old has been around, has experience and is grounded and wise.  Old is good.  Age contributes to several of the other Top 10 Reasons that We Love Reclaimed Wood.  

Reason #9:  Stability

One of the benefits of age is stability.  Antique wood usually has been in service for years, decades or even a century or more.  The passage of time tends to season wood and make it less likely than new wood to twist or otherwise move significantly. 

Reason #8:  Authenticity

Reclaimed wood is real.  It is genuine.  It has become what it is over time and is comfortable in its own skin. 

Reason #7:  Environmental Friendliness

Reclaimed wood is recycled wood.  Done right, reclaimed wood is a poster child for the best of the environmental movement.  Trestlewood believes that at the heart of doing antique wood right is a candid assessment of a particular batch of wood’s characteristics and then a focused effort to find ways to use those characteristics to best advantage.  We derive a lot of satisfaction from being a part of the process of finding the highest and best use for the salvaged wood that passes through our system.  We cringe when reclaimed wood is done wrong – when, for example, a project is so rigid in its requirements that significant waste is generated trying to make a batch of material something that it is not.  

Reason #6:  History

You can’t beat the history of antique wood.  From railroad trestles to warehouses to barns to pickling vats to fencing to scaffolding to construction timbers to railcar decking to . . . If only the wood could talk.

Reason #5:  Quality

They don’t make wood like they used to.  Old growth logging restrictions and current commercial forestry practices that emphasize rapid tree growth often make reclaimed wood the best source of high-quality, tight-grained flooring, lumber and timbers.  Compare, for example, the redwood lumber currently available at your local lumber yard to redwood lumber salvaged from old pickle vats.  There is no comparison.   

Reason #4:  Character

Saying that antique lumber is often higher quality than new lumber does not mean that reclaimed wood is perfect.  In fact, one of the things that we like most about reclaimed wood is that it is often full of character (i.e., imperfections.)  Much of this character (nail holes, bolt holes, bug holes, staining, checking, open or loose knots, even some surface rot/degradation, …) comes from its age and its history.   We love the process of finding ways to use antique wood character to best advantage. 

Reason #3:  Uniqueness

Bottom line:  no two reclaimed lumber boards or antique wood beams are exactly alike.  We view this as just another compelling selling point of reclaimed wood.  Of course, there is unique and then there is really unique.  We would offer our Mushroomwood lumber as an example of the latter.

Reason #2:  Beauty

When it comes right down to it, no matter how environmentally friendly, historic, high quality or full of character a reclaimed lumber or timber product is, if you don’t like how it looks, you are not going to use it.  Fortunately, reclaimed wood products have beauty and to spare.  We don’t think you will have a difficult time finding a beautiful antique flooring, lumber or beam product that is just right for your application.

Reason #1:  Ability to Inspire

About to open a new restaurant?  Building your dream home?  Need just the right mantel to finish off your great room?  What better product than reclaimed wood and its combination of history, quality, character, uniqueness and beauty to not only provide the right look but to lift and inspire?