Salvaged, Antique, and Vintage Wood

Much has been written by several companies about the use of the word antique wood and why antique wood is more desirable than vintage wood, which is less than 100 years old. Technically, the word antique is used only in connection with a product 100 years old or more. Old Growth antique salvaged wood means that the wood was cut 100-300 years ago and formerly used to build barns, gristmills or factories at that time. It has now been salvaged from these structures to be incorporated into new construction.

Old Growth Wood
This Old Growth wood is a higher quality due to its age and use characteristics than most new growth wood that is on the market today at your local lumber stores. The surface of such wood will have a very dark patina that can be over 1/8" thick as well as cracks, checks (lines due to the drying of the wood), nail holes and other age-enhanced use characteristics which make it stand out when used in your home for flooring, trim, countertops, or cabinets. Once you see the tighter grain, the intriguing character marks and the deeper colors, you will never be satisfied with the very new woods being offered today in big box stores.

Salvaged, Recycled and Reclaimed Wood
Then there are the terms salvaged, recycled and reclaimed wood. Is it recycled wood from structures over 100 years old or salvaged wood from structures 50 years old? There are certainly differences in these terms (salvaged, antique, recycled, reclaimed). But do these differences really matter, if you find the floor that you love with the characteristics you desire? For instance, some of our products such as Antique Wood countertops were salvaged from glue lam beams or reclaimed wood from bowling alleys are certainly not antique in the strictest definition of the word, but are reused in a different form. The finished look is just as intriguing and unique.

In the same manner, we have salvaged wood from old wine tanks, water tanks or other storage tanks or even from mushroom growing facilities which produce our Mushroom Wood (Cypress & Hemlock). Again, they are not over 100 years old, but they replicate the uniqueness, the strength, and even the some of the color hues found in the Old Growth species.

Vintage Woods
Our Vintage Wood would normally be special salvaged wood that would be less than 50 years old. One source would be from yard or roadside trees or even dying trees that have been cut recently. These trees will usually produce a top quality lumber which normally ends up in fireplaces or dumps. What a waste! These trees produce some of our finest Vintage Walnut, Vintage Cherry, Vintage Oak, Vintage White Pine, Vintage Butternut, Vintage Hickory, and Vintage Hemlock.

Another source of our Vintage Wood comes from managed or sustainable farm wood lots or other managed forests. Managed forests require that large old trees be cut to allow new younger trees to survive and take their place. This practice on farm lots and other managed forests will insure a constant supply of our Vintage Wood products. Our Vintage Flooring products are typically handcrafted from extra thick 5/4 stock and are made from sorted mill run stock, just as it was over 100 years ago. The top surface is usually hand sanded, hand brushed, and hand planed to retain some of the circular and band saw marks that you would see in top quality 100 year old flooring.

Antique Beams Division
We have truckloads of hand hewn beams and hand sawn beams to be used structurally or decoratively in new construction or restoration construction. Old hand hewn beams can be used to make beautiful fireplace mantels and rustic benches for gardens or parks.

We even have 500 year old beams salvaged from a Ming Dynasty Temple that was taken down 20 years ago and found in an old field in New York.

Antique & Vintage Woods is a fully "green company". All of our products are either salvaged or recycled wood or come from managed sustainable forests. The full history of each of our products is available to all of our clients.

Antique & Vintage Woods is always on the cutting edge of other companies in the development of new and interesting products such as Mushroom Wood siding, Tobacco Barn Oak flooring, or countertops from the reclaimed wood of a bowling alley. We are currently developing a line of fencing products made from old beams and Mushroom Wood, a line of garden houses and play houses made from old salvaged wood, and a line of reproduction antique furniture also made from our old wood.