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Reclaimed Wood: A Field Guide
The first handbook on reclaimed wood, combining useful information, rich history, and design ideas
Wood reclaimed from old houses, factories, barns, water tanks, and boardwalks has become a valuable commodity, treasured for the patina that gives witness to its history. Our ancestors built well, using locally sourced lumber that expressed the culture and natural history of their oak and pine in the Northeast; hickory and cypress in the South; Douglas fir and redwood in the West. Reclaimed A Field Guide is the first complete visual handbook to this popular resource, covering history, culture, salvage, sources, contemporary uses (in buildings and furniture), and practical advice.
Wood reclaimed from old houses, factories, barns, water tanks, and boardwalks has become a valuable commodity, treasured for the patina that gives witness to its history. Our ancestors built well, using locally sourced lumber that expressed the culture and natural history of their oak and pine in the Northeast; hickory and cypress in the South; Douglas fir and redwood in the West. Reclaimed A Field Guide is the first complete visual handbook to this popular resource, covering history, culture, salvage, sources, contemporary uses (in buildings and furniture), and practical advice.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published October 1, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 29, 2023
In some ways, I'm uncertain whether or not there is any point in reviewing this book. If you don't get why one might wish to read a book about reclaimed wood (that is, wood which was once part of some other structure, that is now taken apart, and reused for some new purpose), then probably nothing I say to you will make much difference. Probably at least 50 pages of this book, scattered through the rest of the text, are simply full-page photographs of wood grains, either as-is or after being cleaned up by a bit of sanding. Is that something you could imagine yourself looking at for some period of time, with interest? If not, perhaps this is not for you.
But, there is also a lot of text, and interesting nuggets hidden therein. The authors have learned, for example, how to identify longleaf pine: "Longleaf was so common, and so valued, in the late 19th century that it is regularly salvaged from a broad range of industrial structures, including mills, factories, warehouses, horse stables, and stores. Among the smaller-size lumber is decking approximately three to four inches thick, joined by splines. This is supported by three- or four-inch-thick joists. Larger timbers frame the structure."
To study reclaimed wood is to think simultaneously about the tree that it once was part of, the workmen who put it to use the first time, and the potential uses of it now or in the future. Reading the book, is an opportunity to pull back from your immediate moment in time to think about generations before, and what is to come. I found it to be excellent reading material for the nightstand, reading a few pages to take my mind off the all-too-immediate present, and spend a few minutes pondering a page or two of wood grain, and then after closing the book ponder both of them as I lay there with my eyes closed. When the house I am in is torn apart and torn down, will there be anything in it which is deemed worth reclaiming?
This is not a "page turner" that attempts to grip your attention by the throat and keep it from start to finish. It is a book which gives you back your perspective, and your composure. When it was done, I wished there were more of it.
But, there is also a lot of text, and interesting nuggets hidden therein. The authors have learned, for example, how to identify longleaf pine: "Longleaf was so common, and so valued, in the late 19th century that it is regularly salvaged from a broad range of industrial structures, including mills, factories, warehouses, horse stables, and stores. Among the smaller-size lumber is decking approximately three to four inches thick, joined by splines. This is supported by three- or four-inch-thick joists. Larger timbers frame the structure."
To study reclaimed wood is to think simultaneously about the tree that it once was part of, the workmen who put it to use the first time, and the potential uses of it now or in the future. Reading the book, is an opportunity to pull back from your immediate moment in time to think about generations before, and what is to come. I found it to be excellent reading material for the nightstand, reading a few pages to take my mind off the all-too-immediate present, and spend a few minutes pondering a page or two of wood grain, and then after closing the book ponder both of them as I lay there with my eyes closed. When the house I am in is torn apart and torn down, will there be anything in it which is deemed worth reclaiming?
This is not a "page turner" that attempts to grip your attention by the throat and keep it from start to finish. It is a book which gives you back your perspective, and your composure. When it was done, I wished there were more of it.
January 7, 2020
Clearly a labor of love detailing the history and characteristics of various types of wood. A thoroughly enjoyable book with gorgeous photographs, both historical and modern, that is quite at home on a reference shelf or a coffee table.
July 4, 2020
Beautiful pix and good breakdown of forestry by region. Sad to see historical photos of forest giants being cut.
July 23, 2020
Not sure what I was hoping for, but very detailed book about different reasonable species of wood, think I wanted more practice execution of use examples... Nice pictures.
October 8, 2020
Gorgeous photos and thoughtfully written. Very detailed content. Perfect coffee table book for all homes.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews