NatureAged Timbers

Specification Sheet #7130 - NatureAged Timbers

Species

Mixed Species, heavy to (and often exclusively) softwoods. May include Douglas Fir, Alpine Fir, White Fir, Lodgepole Pine, Ponderosa Pine, others. The most common species used for NatureAged Timbers is Douglas Fir. Trestlewood can include hardwood timbers (RubyOak/RubyHardwood and other) at its discretion (see WeatheredBlend Hardwood Timber Spec Sheet #6160 and RubyOak/RubyHardwood Spec Sheet #s 6140 and 6147.)

Source

NatureAged Timbers are naturally weathered to achieve a rustic grayish/brown appearance. NatureAged Timbers may be i) new timbers; ii) timbers reclaimed from various salvage projects, iii) timbers cut from beetle-killed, fire-killed or dead-standing trees, and/or iv) timbers cut from material which has weathered out of spec. Trestlewood sometimes uses one or more "juicing" processes to accelerate the natural weathering process and/or to help less weathered/aged faces blend in with weathered/aged faces. Timbers that are specifically quoted as "Gray+" are timbers that have been juiced on one or more faces. If timbers are not specifically quoted as Gray+, Trestlewood can fill the order with any combination of Gray+ and/or non-Gray+.
NatureAged Timbers are one of the primary sources of WeatheredBlend Timbers. Trestlewood reserves the right to substitute WeatheredBlend Timbers of other types for NatureAged Timbers in certain situations (like when we have better options for certain sizes from other timber sources.)

HC/FOHC

Generally Heart Center (HC)

Metal

Allowed, but not as common in NatureAged Timbers as in many other weathered timbers. NatureAged Timbers can sometimes have screws and other metal fasteners that were used to secure the timbers during the weathering process and then broke off inside the timber.

Holes

NatureAged Timbers may have nail holes and/or bolt holes. Such holes will often have staining around them.

Checking/Cracks

Timbers generally have checks from the heart center to the faces of the timber. In addition, timbers can have surface checking and cracks, moderate butt checking and minor end splitting.

Moisture Content/Stability

The moisture content in NatureAged Timbers will vary from piece to piece. NatureAged Timbers are generally not as stable as reclaimed timbers, but are often more stable than green timbers. All wood has the tendency to move to equilibrium with its environment and will, therefore, expand/shrink/move as its environment changes.

Surfacing

Weathered. Original surfacing (prior to weathering) is generally rough-sawn (circle-sawn or band-sawn) but can in some cases be planed. Surface degradation (water damage, surface rot, punkiness, etc) is allowed.

Standard Dimensions

a) Cross-sections: 4x6 to 12x12 (larger dimensions are often available); b) Lengths: to 20' (longer lengths are often available); c) Nominal: dimensions are generally nominal; actual dimensions vary from timber to timber and sometimes even within a timber.
Sometimes timbers are cut from larger timbers, giving them one or more fresh-sawn faces (which faces can be "juiced" to help them blend in with weathered faces.)

Weight

Typically, approximately 3 pounds per board foot

Grading

NatureAged Timbers can often be graded (WLCB, WWPA, or similar) for an additional charge. It is highly recommended that any timbers that are to be used in a structural application be graded. It is also recommended that standard size timbers be used whenever possible. Checking can often be more pronounced in timbers wider and/or thicker than 12" than in standard size timbers.

Appearance Variation

Weathered timbers will generally vary in appearance from piece to piece and even within a piece. The weathering (amount, mix of colors, etc) and other characteristics of one face can be substantially different than the weathering and other characteristics of another face. Some weathered timbers are cut from larger weathered timbers, giving them one or more fresh-sawn faces.

Trestlewood sometimes uses one or more "juicing" processes to help fresh-sawn and/or less weathered/aged faces blend in with weathered/aged faces. All else being equal, juicing is more likely to be used in situations where (a) timbers are cut from larger timbers (thereby creating fresh-cut faces); (b) Buyer wants all (or most) faces to look weathered/aged; and/or (c) Buyer desires to increase the consistency of the weathered/aged look from face to face.