ECO DESIGN/BUILD
BT - Big Timberworks
Experienced Wood
How much of your old wood comes from barns?Actually we’ve gotten very little wood from barns. Barn timbers are usually mixed species (depending on what grew around the barn), they are usually full of holes from guys like us who mortised and drilled them, and they are prone to rot because many old barns have compromised roofs, and they are difficult to grade for structural uses. Where does your old wood come from?Most of the wood has been salvaged from industrial structures such as old factories, warehouses, canneries, bridges, grain elevators, trestles, sawmills, and water towers. We’ve bought wood on the East Coast, in many metropolitan areas in the Midwest, and all up and down the West Coast. The disadvantage of our approach is that we burn up a lot of fuel transporting this wood to our sawmill, but we make sure our trailers are fully loaded so we’re not hauling any air. What species of reclaimed wood are available?Ninety percent of the timber we use is old growth Douglas fir, but over the years we’ve bought loads of white and red oak, cedar, redwood, western white pine, ponderosa pine, eucalyptus, longleaf pine, western larch, Engelmann spruce, cypress, and western hemlock. Except for longleaf pine, availability of most of these species can be unpredictable and limited. Many of these species are sawn for specialty items: small timber packages, flooring, siding, millwork, trim packages, doors, furniture and mantles. Can we buy wood from BT’s sawmill?Certainly. We sell wood to both contractors and individuals, and have shipped to many projects out of state. We don’t require that you buy our woodworking services to get the wood. Why do you use reclaimed wood?Until 1990 we exclusively used green timbers. We were always disappointed in the long term when green timbers shrank and moved. We also had a difficult time justifying the clear cutting of old growth forests. We started to reuse timbers because it was a source that was greatly underutilized and the wood was exceptionally dry and stable. These reclaimed timbers were sawn from some of the finest old growth forests known to North America. To build something well, no matter what it is, one must use the best material possible. We think this is the best material for timber construction. How long will there be a supply of reclaimed wood?There is a lot of speculation on this topic and nobody really knows how many buildings contain timbers and when they may be dismantled. There will always be used wood, though its sizes and quality will change. BT also uses standing dead logs as an alternative to reclaimed timber stock. Why is reclaimed wood so expensive?When we first started using salvaged wood, people almost gave it to us to avoid hauling it to the landfill or burning it. Times have changed and now most everyone has realized its value. Demand has risen dramatically while supply has stayed relatively static, driving up the cost. Another reason salvaged wood is expensive is the amount of waste generated in the process. On average, 35% of every truckload is waste or very low value material. We do better on our waste factor than most companies because we carry a large inventory, which allows us to saw efficiently. We’ve also developed a number of products that utilize this less usable wood. What other building materials does your Sawmill inventory?In addition to reclaimed timbers and large logs, our sawmill inventories other interesting materials, including:
What kind of equipment does BT’s sawmill have on site?We have a well-equipped mill that features the following machinery:
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