The bin build out at the Brooklyn warehouse (71 Troy Ave.) is being completed. The innovative system utilizes salvaged conveyor rollers from Pennsylvania and reclaimed dimensional lumber (3 x 10’s) from the city within a conventional lumber storage grid, allowing visitors to pull stacks of wood into an open area for sorting.
The reclaimed wood wall strips in the house were fastened with small nails. Like the Muir Web, where tiny creatures are essential building blocks of nature, this hardware item, barely longer than an inch, held together the built environment of 19th c. New York. Square edged and tapered, they’re a scaled down version of nails used for larger lumber. Often called ‘Class B Cut’, they combine the machine and hand made, chopped at an angle from a metal sheet, with a head formed from a quick strike to a heated end. They came in the millions from the iron belts of Birmingham or Sheffield, England or western Pennsylvania during the industrial era. Where they’ll go next is uncertain. (photo: nails on Longleaf Pine)
Reclaiming wood structural joists from row houses in the city can sometimes be a long shot, accounting for the lower volume of material (than industrial bldgs), lack of on site storage and other issues. So it’s rare to salvage even smaller members – interior wall studs and in this case, the finer wall stripping – from the wreckage. Blueline Construction was able to soften the demo touch just enough to pry out the 135 yr old wood strips, largely in-tact.
These woods possess some unique qualities that are welcome salvage for re-use in the house. For one, the aged softwoods are ready-made paneling – milled to 3/8″ and with old finishing nails that are easily tapped out. They also produce a range of natural brown tones, fine saw marks and the rhythm of small nail holes that add to their appeal. Cleaned and potentially waxed or oiled, the narrow boards produce a pin stripe effect against the rustic woods.
Families are smaller and company boards hold remote video conferences today, but the large table, especially one from reclaimed wood, is far from a thing of the past. Making one involves the same steps as any table (with a metal base), but any difficulties are often amplified with size. This may include potential for wood movement and end splits, added production capacity, especially for clamp and glue up and building a table base that is adequately stable.
The above table for a local downtown BID includes an industrial style i-beam base with a 4′ x 10′ table top from reclaimed native softwoods. The woods have been sanded to reveal the figure without removing all of the aged patina and other characters marks.
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