Are recycled timbers more expensive than green lumber?
Apples to apples, no. Our reclaimed redwood lumber is from 100% old growth stock that has been air dried slowly over a long period of time. There is a great difference between what we offer and what is commercially available from green lumber. Still, recycled lumber is priced competitively with green lumber of the same species, grade and dimension. Where reclaimed timber prices diverge from green lumber is in high grade and the large dimension pieces. The fact is many of the larger dimension timbers from 6×12 on up, commonly used in construction 50 or 100 years ago simply do not exist in today’s lumber market. Glue-laminated wood, Steel, or reinforced concrete beams have taken their place. While large dimension lumber can be had on a custom cut basis, the process is problematic. A query of redwood mills up and down the California coast for dry, 7 grain per inch, clear heart 12x 12’s yielded this response: “$12.00 a board foot. Green. Two year wait… If we can get it.” Hence the larger
