4 Facts Homeowners Must Know When Using Salvaged Timber for Flooring
Wooden floors are aesthetically pleasing and retain heat thereby helping to save on heating costs during winter. Notably, such flooring can be expensive when you factor in the cost of purchasing floorboards. However, high cost should not be the reason not to try out wooden flooring as there are inexpensive alternatives. Salvaged timber originates from live or dead trees in farms or urban areas. Such wood helps in conservation of natural forests; hence, salvaging is considered an ethical way of obtaining timber. If you need to renovate your wooden flooring, salvage timber can provide cheaper boards without skimping on quality. Here are some facts that homeowners should know when working with salvaged wood.
Where is Salvaged Timber Found? – Salvaged wood can be obtained from diverse sources such as warehouses and old buildings. Furthermore, the timber can be reclaimed from fences, old storage vessels including beer casks and wine barrels, and shipping pallets. These sources produce wood of different sizes that are ideal for residential flooring. Furthermore, due to the aging effect, old timber has a solid colour and unique patterns that give the tile a vintage appeal. Further, salvaged timber can also be obtained from trees that die naturally or have been knocked down by weather elements.
Eco-Friendly Wood Source -- Timber is a finite resource that might eventually become non-existent in the future. Natural resources continue to diminish at a high rate as climate change takes its hold on the environment. For instance, some wood species are increasingly becoming rare and extinct. Reclaimed timber enables users to conserve forests since the overbearing effects of felling, processing, and transporting timber are diminished. With salvaged wood, homeowners can work with all sizes of planks without having a deleterious impact on nature.
Durability and Strength -- Warping and splitting are common but undesirable characteristics of most floorboards. The problem with newly cut timber is susceptibility to splitting and warping as it expands and contracts. The advantage of old wood planks is that they have already undergone these natural processes a long time ago and have thoroughly dried. As a result, salvaged timber is more durable compared to freshly cut boards. Furthermore, since old wood matures slowly over an extended period, tree rings are firmly parked thereby making the timber stronger for flooring.
Unique Pieces that are Rich in History -- Reclaimed wood produces non-uniform pieces that are unique with no two planks being identical. While some users, who are looking for uniformity, might find the quality unwanted, such uniqueness carries a rich history. Therefore, when installed on the floor, salvaged timber not only offers functionality but also distinctive attributes concerning texture, shape or mild marks, which should not be perceived as flaws.
