Reclaimed Timber

Reclaimed wood is a processed wood prepared for a subsequent amount of use, and can be used over and over again depends on the condition of the wood. The part that has finished its life can be easily degraded.

The practice of using reclaimed wood as a building material started in the United States of America ages ago because it was strong, present in an abundant amount, and relatively inexpensive. Longleaf pine played a huge role during the period of the industrial revolution, many factories and warehouses were built using that wood.

Other earlier structures used redwood and chestnut blight, and even after dismantling of those structures in recent times, those reclaimed wood were welcomed for different uses.

Reclaimed wood possesses many properties some of which are,

·       Strength

·       Quality

·       Unique Appearance

·       Durability

Industry

The practice of reusing wood is quite old but the industries for reclaimed lumber gained the momentum in the 1980s mostly and since then it has been growing as environmental concerns play an important role in the modern world in the construction sector.

The world is slowly moving towards the green construction practices and wood especially plays an important role in that because of its durable qualities and abundancy in existence.

Reclaimed Wood Council, that is a trade association of reclaimed lumber was established in May 2003 but dissolved soon in early 2008 because of the lack of participation among the distributors.

Recently the certain industry was valued at USD 11.22 billion in 2017 in the global market and its ease of availability and properties just show the growth in the market in the future. The majority of the wood is regained from the old constructions and those contractors owe a huge part to the increasing demand for reclaimed wood.

The above bar chart justifies the statement of future growth of this industry plus it shows that where these lumbers are mostly used in construction, flooring, and furniture occupies the bigger parts in that.

The drastic increase in usage of the reclaimed timber is mostly due to reducing the carbon footprint of the toxic materials which are either very hard  to recycle or can’t be recycled at all, which ends up in the landfill and due to their no bio-degrading properties can be harmful for the environment.

But when it comes to timber the resources can be limited to some extent because the industry is highly dependent on the demolishing activities that are leading to higher uncertainty in the growth. The easier and simpler solution for this will be artificial forests to attain more wood in the future.

 In early 2017, the furniture industry emerged as the second-largest application segment. There was a high demand by the consumers especially for furniture including chairs, tables, and cabinets mostly.

Average graded lumber can be used for paneling mostly, although they further need treatments like weatherproofing etc. but can be very durable whereas, higher-grade lumber is mostly used for flooring and the best ones are used for furniture. The industry provides variety of options to the consumers in each department in terms of color, quality, application, and finish.