Reclaimed timbers bring additional texture, aesthetic, and a unique history to every project. This Summer, we’ll be raising residential and commercial timber frames crafted of reclaimed timbers across Upstate NY.
“Reclaimed wood is a top choice for timber frame projects as it is inherently more stable than fresh cut wood. In addition, the history and character in reclaimed timbers is unmatched – clients particularly enjoy the story of their frame,” explains Eric Fraser, Timber Frame Manager.
Reclaimed timbers are part of our culture and history, our team understands antique wood and how to use it to the best of its potential, from our design group, to our engineers, to our joiners and timberwrights. For nearly 30 years, we’ve been crafting frames with timbers salvaged by our sister company, Pioneer Millworks, from outdated agricultural and industrial buildings.
Antique timbers can be difficult to source, like finding a gem in the rough, and challenging to work with due to existing mortise pockets and old artifacts like nails or bolts. Though challenging, the signs of previous life add to the visual appeal, character not found in fresh sawn timbers. Hand-hewn surfaces of old agricultural timbers are often left intact, even using original mortise and tenon joinery where the design allows.
An added benefit of reclaimed timbers is their stability. Any checking or twisting of the old timbers happened decades ago as they spent those years experiencing fluctuating temperatures and exposure to air and moisture changes while drying to a consistent, low moisture level.
Timber Home Living Magazine will be documenting each step in the design/build process for the Olsen family’s reclaimed Douglas fir timber frame home in Austerlitz, NY. Online and print articles will cover the project starting with architectural planning, to the frame raising, to enclosure, to completion. The Douglas fir timbers for this project were reclaimed from dilapidated industrial buildings including Myrtle Creek and Union Underwear as well as a military facility in Pine Valley, NY. We anticipate raising the frame for this project in July 2014.
Residential homes aren’t the only projects that are using reclaimed timbers. Commercial clients are also telling a story through their structures by incorporating reclaimed wood. Lyons National Bank is opening a new branch in Canandaigua, NY which will feature reclaimed Douglas fir salvaged from a manufacturing building in Albion, NY.
The Finger Lakes Museum at the Discovery Campus in Branchport, NY will use a mixture of timbers reclaimed from a Wisconsin barn to form a new museum building. We will re-raise the frame this month.
Point of the Bluff Vineyard in Hammondsport, NY is re-using a storied timber frame we deconstructed/reclaimed from Steamboat Landing in Canandaigua, NY. The re-purposed frame will be raised in late July.
Many of the timber frame raisings will be open to the public. Please let us know if you’d like to attend.
