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Barnwood Flooring in Silver City, MS 39166

Working with Recycled Wood

What woods can be reused?

Almost any piece of wood can be reused. Greater Yellowstone Furniture and Designs use wood from old barns, homes, bridges, fences, antique commercial structures like gold mills, graineries, broken furniture, pallets, etc.

Is recycled wood inferior to new wood?

Absolutely not. Well-aged wood is superior to new wood in most applications. Because it is aged, the wood is not likely to twist or warp like new wood. The appearance of recycled wood has a warm glow as it records its history resulting in rich colors and character not present in new wood.

Is recylced wood a cheap source of wood?

No. You can often get recycled wood free, but you will pay for it in many hours of work preparing the wood for reuse. barnwood flooring in Silver City, MS. barnwood flooring in Silver City, MS. Expect to pay more for a recylced product.

What is involved in prepared recycled wood for reuse?

You must remove all foreign material that will damage your tools that you use to work the wood. This must be done in a systematic, careful manner to prevent damage to the wood. Basically, you remove nails, bolts, screws, glue joints, anything holding the wooden structure together.

Often nails refuse to pull out and break off inside. A hidden nail can ruin expensive saw blades, planer blades, router bits, etc. To be sure the wood is metal free, a metal detector is used to scan every square inch of wood. (Tip on how to remove steel from wood will be a topic soon.)

Are there dangers involved in recycling wood?

Yes, old buildings often contain hazardous materials and may be in hazardous condition due to rotted support beams, floor boards, etc. Once you start removing wood you make the remaining wood unstable.

Be sure to identify all possible hazards before you start work: Consult an expert in this field.

Watch out for:

1) Asbestos insulation

2) Rodent droppings (may carry diseases)

3) Chemicals

4) Lead-based paints

5) Structural faults

"Don't try this at home" is the best policy.

Why would anyone risk all these hazards?

When you are aware of the dangers you can take steps to neutralize the danger.

Here is why it is worth the trouble to use Recycled Wood.

1) You reduce the need to cut a living tree to produce your product.

2) You can enjoy a product from wood that is no longer available for harvest in our modern forest. It takes hundreds of years to grow trees like the ones used by our ancestors.

3) You will set a sense of accomplishment above and beyond the feeling you get from working with new wood.

There are many other reasons, please tell us about some of yours.

Enjoy your work.

Gene Nellis

Greater Yellowstone Furniture And Designs