Why Recycle?
Each year the United States buries about 33 million tons of construction and demolition debris in our landfills, much of it useable wood.
As the wood decomposes, it releases about 5 million tons of carbon equivalent in the form of methane gas. Also, every ton of wood that is reused avoids
the creation of 60 pounds of greenhouse gases that would have been created to harvest and mill new lumber. Dismantling and reusing the lumber
saves a significant amount of debris from clogging the landfills, and helps prevent greenhouse gases from clogging our atmosphere. In addition,
the historic significance of the structure is lost forever unless it is somehow reused.
For these reasons and others, recycling old wood has become popular with people around the country who are concerned about the environmental effects
of vast deforestation. Dismantling and re-using old wooden structures can reduce the demands made upon our natural resources to provide
raw materials for new construction. Since dismantling is more labor-intensive than demolition, more time and money is spent on hand labor
than on the operation of heavy equipment. Again, this helps our environment, as well as providing the potential for well-paid entry-level jobs to construction trades.
Our Process
Taking down old buildings is just the first step in a long process that goes into preparing this wood for a finished product. The first task
once the wood arrives at the workshop is to remove all hardware from it, using a painstaking and time-consuming process. We use metal detectors
to first locate the old nails and then use chisels, pliers and hammers to take the nails out while carefully preserving as much wood as possible.
Any rotted or damaged wood is cut out and the lumber is then kiln-dried. Only now is the material finally ready to be used for a variety of projects, including
our Farmwood Collection of Aged Wood Furniture.
We utilize a variety of wood species found in these old buildings, including the unique and beautiful American Chestnut, as well as
antique oak “thresher floor” barn wood, antique oak barn siding, tobaccowood pine (found exclusively in old tobacco-drying barns), horse country oak,
rustic cherry, and antique walnut. Upon request, we also use antique heart pine as well.
We are dedicated to the preservation of old lumber and timbers found in old buildings, barns, and structures built around the turn of the century
--or earlier--in and around the tri-state area. This lumber was taken from old growth forest a century ago or more and does not require the cutting of
any more trees. With this in mind, we are always looking for these old structures to dismantle and use for our furniture, flooring, wainscoting, paneling,
mantles, ceiling beams, and more.
Antique Wood Buyer
Contact Information:
Hunter’s Aged Woods, LLC
151 West Main Street
Purcellville, Virginia 20132
540-931-7153 (mobile)
540-338-5006
540-751-2165 (fax)
e-mail: hunter@farmwoodcollection.com
- Please list the type (barn, farm structure, old building, etc), approximate size and location of the building.
- Send pictures if possible (inside and outside) of your building.
- Please send videos if available.
- Most standing old barns, etc., for sale are valued in the range of $200 to $2000 for salvage. Certain barns may qualify to be purchased at a higher price.
