By HomeWrights Custom Homes Owner, Bob Hinz
Recycled wood floor
Recently, I met with a home owner/builder at his new home off of Titan Road in Douglas County, Colorado. The client and I were very impressed with the work on his project. Of particular note were the beautiful hardwood, aged oak floors. These floors are recycled barnwood, salvaged from barns and commercial structures throughout the Midwest. Not only are they beautiful, but because they are naturally aged and dried, they are exceptionally stable and won’t crack or shift once in place.
Furthermore, because no new trees were harvested to create the product, they contribute to the Green Building points that the client can accumulate if he wishes to have the home certified as Built Green.
This type of product can be found pretty readily. We’ve had clients use recycled timbers for porch beams, interior beams, and brackets or corbels on the outside of their homes. We’ve seen recycled wood used for cabinet fronts, floors, fireplace mantels, and even steps from a deck to a rustic yard feature.
We’ve even had a client recycle an entire timber frame from a 100-year old family barn in upstate New York. Yep – taken apart piece by piece, put on a flatbed truck, brought to his job site in Niwot. Then, re-assembled by the same guy who took it apart.
We’ve seen, but not yet used, recycled “piles” from saltwater piers in the northwest, near Seattle. This is amazingly beautiful wood, and evidently, soaking in salt water for 50 years or more makes it incredibly resistant to rotting, warping, and insects!
Building Green really can be beautiful. If building a green custom home is in your future, give us a call!