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Vintage Distressed Oak

History and Characteristics of  Vintage Distressed Oak

Oak lumber has been valued for structural and decorative uses for centuries. While more than 80 species of oak grow in the U.S., “out of the woods and at the sawmill”, the lumber industry “sorts” into two species–red oak and white oak. Many of the differentiating characteristics of red and white oak are subtle and  mistakes are made even by well trained graders of modern sawmills.  Red hue of red oak is the most visible distinguishing characteristic used by non-professionals. Color differences are even more indistinguishable in reclaimed oak due to the slow growth tight grain pattern and brown patina acquired with age.

 


Specifications

Vintage Whiskey Springs Oak

Characteristics of  Vintage Whiskey Springs Oak

Vintage Whiskey Springs Oak is similar to other manufacturers products also known as “dirty top,” “skip planed,” “trace sawn,” “ranch house,” and other proprietary names.

Whiskey Springs displays the sawn texture and colors of the original antique board surface. The flooring is precision milled in every way as our fully milled Vintage Distressed Oak flooring, with the visible face skip planed on approximately 20% of the surface.

 


Specifications

Vintage Poplar

History and Characteristics of Vintage Poplar

Vintage Poplar is harvested from barns, houses, and various buildings throughout the Northeast, Mid Atlantic, Midwest, and the Southeast. Poplar is valued for its light weight and easy work-ability, as well as its strength to weight ratio and was widely used as structural framing beams, sawn boards, residential flooring, and moldings. The tulip poplar tree is the state tree of Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Poplar remains valued for many modern solid and engineered wood applications.

Vintage Poplar has visual characteristics not found in freshly harvested poplar. Distinct colors from white to olive green to deep purple give antique poplar a unique appearance. Slightly denser than modern yellow pine,  Vintage poplar can be used in high traffic areas where dents are acceptable.  Customers seeking a “south west” ambiance find poplar to be appropriate. While reclaimed wood is usually clear or naturally finished, poplar is one of the most easily stained woods available. With the correct stain, poplar can be mistaken for cherry, maple, walnut, birch and several other hardwoods.

 


Specifications

Vintage Hemlock

History and Characteristics of  Vintage Hemlock

Vintage Hemlock is a relatively soft coniferous wood found in buildings from the mid Atlantic through New England and into Canada. It is the state tree of Pennsylvania. The lumber was widely used as structural framing beams and sawn boards for flooring, siding, and sheathing in many barns and houses into the mid 20th century. Hemlock has a distinct grain similar to yellow pine, and a tan hue similar to chestnut. However, Hemlock is soft and not recommended for “high traffic” floor installations. Careful sanding and a flexible matte finish are recommended to highlight the soft browns of its natural color, and to avoid finish cracking from the dents that will occur.


Specifications

Vintage Select / Crown Heart Pine

History and Characteristics of  Vintage Select/Crown Heart Pine

Our reclaimed heart pine select grade is, without a doubt, our most refined reclaimed flooring. Selected from the same beams and boards as our reclaimed character grade heart pine,

Found extensively in Colonial Williamsburg, “Heart Pine” is a particular species of yellow pine.  Pinus Palustris,  aka “long leaf yellow pine”(its needles often exceeded 12” in length), and “Georgia pine”, grew as the predominant coniferous tree from the gulf coast to northern Virginia. Heart Pine was most heavily harvested after the Civil War and into the 1920’s. Its use as the preferred structural heavy timber in most industrial factories, warehouses, and tenant buildings provides us with a treasured resource preserved for careful extraction and reuse.

 


Specifications

 

Vintage Prime Plus Heart Pine

Characteristics of  Vintage Prime Plus Heart Pine

Prime Plus Grade Heart Pine is our “middle grade” of heart pine. Selected for grade during processing,

Found extensively in Colonial Williamsburg, “Heart Pine” is a particular species of yellow pine.  Pinus Palustris,  aka “long leaf yellow pine”(its needles often exceeded 12” in length), and “Georgia pine”, grew as the predominant coniferous tree from the gulf coast to northern Virginia. Heart Pine was most heavily harvested after the Civil War and into the 1920’s. Its use as the preferred structural heavy timber in most industrial factories, warehouses, and tenant buildings provides us with a treasured resource preserved for careful extraction and reuse.

 


Specifications

Vintage Yellow Pine

History and Characteristics of Vintage Heart/Yellow Pine

Vintage Heart/Yellow pine is our “rustic,” or “cabin” grade. Some manufacturers represent this grade as “Heart Pine,” which it may technically be, but our “select/crown’ and “prime plus” grades are more accurately representative of “heart pine” as it was produced as formal flooring in the past. With that being said, the rustic beauty of VH/YPs  various characteristics is most pleasing for a myriad of applications. We stipulate that it is the most likely grade to show dents of the reclaimed yellow pine grades, but for many customers the accumulation of “character,” and signs of use continue to enhance the appearance of the floor. Unlike our upper grades of heart pine, Vintage Heart/Yellow contains several varieties of yellow pine, all similar in appearance, and found in buildings originally built with locally harvested species. Some of the timber and boards we obtain from the mid-atlantic and north east are almost identical in grain density, and appearance to Pinus Palustris. However, most are distinguished by slightly less density and weight.   Vintage Heart/Yellow is +50% heartwood, +40% clear of knots, +30% vertical grain. While our upper grades are produced from boards resawn from large beams, Vintage Heart/Yellow is a mixture of resawn boards and boards originally used as siding, sheathing, flooring, and other construction purposes. Antique boards milled into flooring may retain some of the patina of aging, adding to its rustic appearance.  Depending on available rough stock VH/YP grade may be custom ordered in an original face–“Whiskey Springs”– format which retains texture of its weathered surface and other signs of it’s industrial and natural history – saw marks, nail holes and sound stress cracks. Please check out the Whiskey Springs oak description and photo if interested.

 


Specifications

Vintage American Chestnut

History and Characteristics of Vintage Distressed Chestnut

The American Chestnut tree was the predominant hardwood species of the entire East coast and into the mid-west forests of the United States. In the early 20th century a devastating blight was introduced from overseas that caused the almost complete extinction of the chestnut species. Today, only a few isolated stands of American chestnut exist in the mid-west. Efforts to re-establish the chestnut tree are the work of the American Chestnut Foundation. Vintage Lumber suggest you visit their web page– httpss://www.acf.org–for additional information.

In its prime, the chestnut tree was highly valued as a food source for livestock as well as for its lumber. As the blight ravaged the species, vast areas of standing deadwood resulted. As deadwood, the standing trunks were very resistant to decay, and became host to several wood boring insects, most notably the “chestnut timber worm–melittomma sericeum.”  The resulting tracks of the chestnut timber worm are more commonly known as “shot worm” holes. The shot worm holes are the defining characteristic of “wormy chestnut.” Millions of board feet of standing deadwood chestnut were harvested for industrial, residential, furniture, and construction purposes.  The abundance of chestnut considered to be defective resulted in low prices and wide use in the industrial markets, especially as  steel mill blocking in the manufacture of hot rolled steel. Thousands of board feet at pennies a board foot were burned daily in steel mills through the 1950’s. While the worm holes were initially considered a “defect’ for most fine woodwork, the boards and beams were extensively used for structural and utility purposes. As the stands of deadwood were harvested, the value of the unique beauty and work-ability of the “functionally extinct” chestnut became established and continues to grow. Today’s source of chestnut is principally deconstructed old barns and occasional commercial buildings built from about 1910 to 1940.

 


Specifications

Vintage White Pine

History and Characteristics of Vintage White Pine

White Pine is native to the north east, and mid atlantic regions of the United States. White Pine was used as structural framing logs, beams, and planks as well as boards for siding, sheathing, and flooring.  Reclaimed eastern white pine is a low density soft wood with coloration ranging from a light blonde to deep chestnut tones. The subtle grain of reclaimed white pine provides an ambiance of warmth and comfort equaled by few other species. Vintage Lumber cautions that white pines low density may make it unsuitable as flooring in high traffic areas. However, some customers may deem the tendency to “dent” desirable for continuing evidence of wear and “antiquing.”


Specifications

Vintage Berkshire Blend

Characteristics of Vintage Berkshire Blend

Vintage Berkshire Blend is our brand of mixed reclaimed hardwoods. Berkshire Blend is an unspecified blend of mostly northern hardwoods reclaimed from barns, houses, and commercial buildings. Berkshire Blend may contain hard maple, soft maple, birch, beech, poplar, ash, elm, hickory, hackberry, cherry, locust, and other reclaimed hardwood species found in quantities too small to warrant production as separate species. The overall appearance of the blend is a maple look. The subtle grains of maple and birch are mixed with the more distinct grains and colors of ash, hickory, elm, etc. Berkshire Blend flooring is nearly as dense as oak, and is suitable for use in most residential and commercial applications. Both boards resawn from beams and boards used as siding, sheathing and floor boards are combined to create a rustic look. Nail holes, rust stains, insect holes, sound knots and other characteristics of reclaimed wood complete the appearance.

Specifications

Engineered Vintage Whiskey Springs Oak

Engineered Vintage Whiskey Springs Blend