why use reclaimed lumber? and why use new?

when selecting lumber for a floor, our guiding philosophy is to use material that represents the purest expression of the species. this means that we use both reclaimed and new lumber, and it’s worth explaining why and how.

if we are milling a heart pine floor, for instance, we know that the most beautiful material exists only in salvaged beams from 19th and early 20th century buildings.

in the mid 19th century, heart pine (pinus palustris, also known as longleaf pine) was heavily logged in old growth southern forests. hard, long, and dense, the material was ideal for large timbers that were required for industrial buildings.

the zeal for longleaf pine resulted in the over-logging of southern forests, and today only 3% of old growth longleaf pine forest remains. the only way to get our hands on old growth material is by salvaging 100+ year old beams and sawing them into planks. we then process the planks into a hardwood floor, typically a wide plank that shows the full range of dense grain, or a narrow vertical grain floor that was, and still is, a classic and refined look.

with other species, however, the most pure expression of the species can only come from using new lumber. take white oak, for instance. white oak is a mighty tree, and while we do come across barn beams that were hewn from this wood, we find that the best way to convey the majesty of the species is to mill wide planks in long lengths that we can only source from new lumber.

when milling a floor from new material, we carefully select logs and lumber that we think will give us a good yield of usable and beautiful material. we believe that wood, like wine, has a terroir, and we hope that our attention to sourcing results in a floor that captures a time and place.