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When the first settlers came to the South, they found longleaf pines towering 300 feet high and as wide around as four men with their arms stretched out. There were 90 million acres of virgin pine forest by most accounts, stretching nearly uninterrupted from Virginia to Texas. Southern pines and other hardwoods were transported to England and other European countries to serve as ship’s masts and hulls, and to the Northeast to span the ceilings of factories. The timber was of the highest quality—slow-growing, dense, and strong enough to stand the test of time. The lumber business in the South was booming and trees, it seemed, were an inexhaustible resource.
By the 1920s, longleaf pine forests in the South had been virtually destroyed. Regrowth trees would never again be able to grow as strong and tall again before being harvested. Today most of the pine used in building is yellow pine, which is less dense and therefore wears through more quickly. The deep-colored, tight-grained “heart pine” timber from old longleaf pines is still out there—it’s just built in to old barns, factories, and other commercial and residential buildings, and demand for it just keeps growing.
Reclaimed wood businesses such as Whole Log Lumber in Zirconia salvage heart pine, hickory, chestnut, maple, oak, and other hardwoods from buildings slated to be destroyed. Jim Stowell started the business in 1984, before using salvage wood was “cool” says partner Loy Lauden. But as green building has taken off in recent years, so has reclaimed wood. “It’s the most sustainable building material. It’s entering its second or third life.”
Just because it’s “used” doesn’t mean it’s cheaper, says Lauden. In fact just the opposite is true. Reclaimed wood flooring can run twice as much as its new, straight-from-the-mill counterpart because of all the processing required to get it into a usable shape and form. First there’s the process of finding the wood.
Recovered wood has to be removed from an old structure carefully in order to preserve as much of it as possible, says Lauden. A metal detector is used to uncover any old nails and they’re removed before planning the wood—otherwise the blades could be destroyed. The wood must be inspected and kiln-dried to halt any bug or beetle infestation. But all that work is worth it, Lauden says, because of the durability and beauty of the wood. “It’s got great price to value, especially for ‘wood geeks.’”
Depending on what the client wants, Whole Log can deliver heart pine—a term loosely used to describe wood with the deep pink color and tight growth rings that can only result from hundreds of years of growth—with “impeccable grain” or with character marks such as nail or bore marks from previous infestations. It can be distressed with a wire brush or sanded smooth.
Although reclaimed wood may seem a natural choice for flooring in rustic mountain homes, Jennifer Woodruff of Asheville’s sustainable materials and design store Build It Naturally says that’s just one alternative. Some of her clients use it to contrast to stainless steel appliances in a kitchen or not on the floor at all: it can be used in doors, paneling, table tops or other creative applications. “People want talking points in their home,” she says. She’s seen it used in sleek, modern houses and even condos.
Appalachian Antique Hardwoods in Waynesville, which sells a variety of recovered and new wood from all over the country has even gotten into the business of creating custom cabinets, furniture, siding, and even entire rebuilt log cabins from reclaimed wood. Founder and president Zac Guy— who dismantled his first old shed while still in high school—has grown the company to over 40 employees and 100 contractors who collect process, and sell wood ranging from cypress found in riverbeds and swamps to cedar shakes from old homes.
Heart pine is a perennial favorite choice in reclaimed wood, but wormy chestnut (so called because of the characteristic worm holes in its surface) is a close second. American chestnut—nearly completely wiped out by a blight in the 1920s—is rare, and therefore desirable. “Elm is hot now,” says Lauden. “Everyone wants it.”
