Many people get easily confused by the various terms used to describe wood that has been rescued from buildings, recovered from natural forests, or harvested in a sustainable way. This post is intended to make the distinction between salvaged, antique, vintage, reclaimed, recycled, and rediscovered wood and make sense of how the various terms can be used.
reclaimed and salvaged antique rustic oak from a tobacco barn
reclaimed and salvaged antique rustic oak from a tobacco barn
Antique Wood
Antiques are often defined or thought of as items that are both old and collectible because of their uniqueness, rarity, or historical value. In many instances, the word antique is used only to describe a product that is 100 years old or more. The definition of antique has its origins in the Tariff Act of 1930, which guidelines state that a true antique must be at least 100 years old. This definition is widely accepted today, including its application to the wood industry, and does not leave much room for debate.
rediscovered pilings from the Baltimore River used as salvage and reclaimed beams in a bedroom
Vintage Wood
Vintage refers to the class of a dated object or product with reference to an era of production or use. Not to be confused with the vintage of a wine, which refers to the year it was harvested, for wood, vintage refers to wood that has not had a history of a previous use. This can include wood that comes from cut trees, dying trees, sustainable farm wood, or wood from managed forests. Vintage holds less strict standards then antique but the age or maturity of the wood is generally an indicator of it being designated as vintage.
vintage, reclaimed, and salvaged wide plank flooring
Recycled Wood
When you treat or process something so that is becomes suitable for reuse, you are recycling. In addition, you must maintain the essential form or materials in the original composition with minimal alteration. Recycled wood is wood that has been reprocessed to create a new “wood-based” product such as plastic/wood composite decking. Recycling is synonymous with reconditioning and adapting for a new use or purpose.
Salvaged Wood
The terms salvaged means to retrieve, recover or rescue, i.e. to save from loss or destruction. Salvaged wood is wood that is pulled from old structures and used in new construction. Most often, it is wood that is described as large, old-growth timbers, but can also refer to found wood that may or may not have been used as a building material.
ceilings and walls covered with wood from redwood wine vats
Reclaimed Wood
To reclaim something, is to bring it into a condition for cultivation or other use or to recover in a pure or usable form from refuse or discarded objects. Like salvaged wood, reclaimed wood is wood that was used in an existing structure and is reused for new construction. Reclaimed equates to wood that had a life for a specified use, but is not necessarily usable for that specified use. That means that wood that was originally used for flooring might be reclaimed into wood used in a countertop.
reclaimed or recycled rustic antique heart pine
Rediscovered Wood
Rediscovered means to learn or obtain through finding or discovery. It only makes sense then that rediscovered wood would be wood found in landfills, rivers, lakes or forests.
antique rustic oak wood flooring reclaimed from tobacco barn
What is Best for Green Building?
So that means you can find salvaged vintage wood, such as wide plank pine flooring from an old barn that is scheduled for demolition, or reclaimed antique cherry beams from an historic house from the 1880’s, or recycled rediscovered wood that was found in an old landfill and used to make a composite wood for flooring. Dizzying isn’t it. Well, what does all this mean when using these types of products in construction? It is all eco-friendly and sustainable and almost always unique and appealing. What is most important is that you love the quality of the wood. What distinguishes these types of wood from the standard building lumber of today is the fact that it once had a life. When you think of the stories the wood could tell, the large and small feet that have treaded upon it, and the notion that it now has a new place to live and breathe again.
Resources for definitions and terms pulled from dictionary.reference.com and wiki.com.
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