Contractors and architects who are building some of the most beautiful homes and buildings of today are recognizing the value that reclaimed wood adds to their buildings in terms of style, durability, and the ability to impress their clients. To appreciate the benefits of using reclaimed wood for the interior and exterior doors of your architectural project, you need to consider both the history of the wood as well as its current usefulness and durability.
Reclaimed Wood: What Is It?
Reclaimed wood refers to processed lumber that is expertly sourced and recovered from another structure. In America’s early years, wood was the primary building material, chosen for its strength and relative abundance. As a result, buildings such as barns, cabins, warehouses, and churches are popular sources for reclaimed wood. Everything from siding to doors to heavy wood beams can be reused in today’s buildings. You can find reclaimed wood being used as accents, timber frame supports, furniture, building material, and as doors.
Reclaimed Wood Benefits for Builders
Using reclaimed wood gives discerning architects and builders an edge: you demonstrate your dedication to sourcing one-of-a-kind materials completely customized to your clients’ discriminating tastes. However, reclaimed wood also supports architects and contractors in goals of quality, authenticity, and sustainability.
Quality – A door’s primary function is to stand straight and protect the interior spaces. For that, you need a quality door made from durable materials. Most reclaimed wood is lumber that was harvested in the 18th, 19th or early 20th centuries, when trees were slow-growing, tall, straight, with a dense grain and a natural ability to resist mold and insects. (In contrast, many of the doors in mass markets are milled from fast-growing tree farms.)
Reclaimed wood has been exposed to weather and changes in humidity. This weathers the wood, making it more stable and easier to work with. Once the door is added, your new home or building’s heating system won’t cause the door to warp, cup, or twist.
Authenticity – Your clients are looking for a building that is completely individual to their style. When you start with reclaimed wood, you are guaranteed to give your clients doors unlike any other. Reclaimed wood doors are authentically rustic and each is 100% original. Some reclaimed wood comes with additional character, such as worm holes, nail holes, and knots. These natural and man-made accents add to the wood’s character, transforming the door into artwork. Inspire your clients with the value of transforming old, authentic materials into something new, useful, and beautiful.
Sustainability – Reclaimed wood is the environmentally responsible option for any homeowner or contractor concerned with their impact on nature. Not only are you avoiding chopping down new trees, you are also preventing viable wood from ending up in a landfill. Reclaimed wood also reduces the amount of emissions associated with logging, processing, and transporting new wood necessary for building a door.
Sourcing Reclaimed Wood for Architects and Builders
The process of efficiently sourcing and preparing reclaimed wood requires experience and expert millwork skills. Vintage Millwork and Restoration has a long history of creating custom doors from quality materials, as well as knowing how to find high quality reclaimed wood.
We provide the experience necessary to know which species of wood weather well in 100+ year old structures, and which do not. We help architects and builders source high-quality reclaimed lumber and avoid purchasing damaged pieces.
Once the wood comes to our in-house millwork shop, we carefully inspect each piece to ensure the quality of the reclaimed wood. Once quality is assured, we remove any nails or other metal pieces from the wood. We sterilize the wood, killing any insects and mold, through kiln drying. This process also removes any residual moisture from the wood before the next step, which is cutting the wood to your exact specifications.
Vintage Millwork and Restoration has a long history of creating custom doors from quality materials, including reclaimed wood. Our craftsmanship allows us to expertly manage weathered wood and create beautiful, custom doors with long-lasting durability. To get started on offering your clients the best in reclaimed wood door, contact us or call us at 717-687-0292.