Reclaimed wood has been adored by many people for its look. The character, history, uniqueness, and structural integrity these wood possess are features that homeowners greatly appreciate. Working with reclaimed wood be very meticulous so it will take careful planning, preparation, and patience to get the best out of the reclaimed wood that you have.

Determining the Wood Species

Just like any other wood, reclaimed wood can come from different species of wood. One good parameter in choosing what species of reclaimed wood to choose is the strength of the wood. It’s best to consult with a structural engineer to confirm that the chosen size and length of the reclaimed timber are adequate for your design. 

Staging and Material Inspection

After determining to wood species of your choice, we need to have our timbers inspected on-site. It’s best to do the inspection on a site where there is very large space for the timbers to lay out. 

There are various features that you can check on the timbers on inspection day. It can be irregular cuts and notches. It can be the ageing features of the wood. The features of your choice will entirely depend on your taste

The next step is to have a professional look on the timbers of your choice to see the structural grade of each piece. This process can take as long as five hours as the process includes poking and prodding each wood. Chunks of dry rot are removed sometimes during these inspections. The inspector will give a formal report of the inspection afterwards. 

Corn Cob Blasting and Fumigation

After the design drawings and the construction contract has been finalized, it’s time to clean and fumigate the timbers as preparing reclaimed wood for use is a very critical step. The last thing you want once reclaimed timbers are erected are loose organic particles constantly falling over from the beams. 

The first thing to do is to manually scrape the wood beams to remove any loose barks or wood chips. The next step is blast those wood beams with corn cob. This process will remove any excess bark, dry rot, and debris from the wood gently enough that it will not destroy the surface.

The last step is fumigating the wood. This is done by applying a solution of borate glycol onto the wood surface. This solution penetrates the wood and kills any bugs left.

Now your reclaimed wood is prepared and ready for construction!

Guest Contributor: Maria Espievidal