7 Tips For Using Reclaimed Wood For Home Building
Below are some tips to make use of reclaimed wood to highlight the authentic charm of your home.
06/06/2022
There are many possibilities, inspirations, themes, and architectural structures to apply when constructing your home. However, if your priority is to have a more sustainable home construction, it’s wise to take advantage of eco-friendlier material options. Perhaps the first fundamental thing you can do is visit salvage shops and find some reclaimed wood.
Reclaimed wood is usually lumber wielded in building constructions and other uses. They were retrieved for a new purpose, and they come in different wood types and sources. This is an excellent way to preserve natural resources and use salvaged wood instead. Repurposing them for other uses will give you that seasoned wooden element that will help elevate the overall feel of a rustic home.
Here are some tips to make use of reclaimed wood to highlight the authentic charm of your home:
1. Use Reclaimed Wood For Your Flooring
One common reclaimed wood source is from commercial pallet manufacturers. You can check out sites like challengerpallet.com/ to find wood pallets best for industrial use. Once they have served their purpose in a business or company, they’re usually disposed to salvage stores as reclaimed wood. The good news is that reclaimed wooden pallets can make for unique hard flooring.
They come with different lengths of planks you can arrange on your existing floors. The key is to measure the room floor space and estimate the number of pallets to be used. Hardwood flooring made from reclaimed wood lends a timeless appearance to any home. This is the best flooring design if you’re going for the rustic and traditional townhouse feel. There is a wide selection of reclaimed hardwoods available to choose from for your home building construction.
Buying or freely obtaining reclaimed wood locally may be a cost-effective option, but it can be challenging to secure enough products to complete a large project. It’s best to be flexible and creative in arranging all pallets on the floors, as they might come with different shades, textures, and materials.
It’s also worth noting that reclaimed wood for floors can be expensive as these are already seasoned and durable, and their quality has been tested over time. Finally, reclaimed flooring should always be prepared, treated, and installed by a professional, regardless of where you purchased the material.
2. Recreate Reclaimed Wood Into Kitchen Islands
Reclaimed wood offers many uses and aesthetic value in many areas of your home, including your kitchen. Repurposed wood can create kitchen islands that best fit wooden elements. You can hire a furniture designer or a carpenter who can carve the old wood into a masterpiece. Reclaimed wood as a kitchen island can be your kitchen’s focal point.
The style makes a great statement as soon as you enter the kitchen, and it can add even more to the homey feel. Just add some hardware that will suit the reclaimed kitchen island better. You won’t go wrong by using salvaged wood for countertops on a kitchen island.
Another way is to have your builder collate both reclaimed and new wood and make it a combination of both styles. There are many ideas for playing with reclaimed wood to keep it highlighted in your kitchen and countertops.
3. Incorporate Them Into Your Exposed Beams
A home will need to have beams in some areas and vertical settings. Thus, using reclaimed timber for your exposed beams is a unique home design idea. This contributes to the overall rugged and rustic feel of your home when using vintage timber beams.
If you’re hesitant about using wooden beams because of mold, rotting, and other possibilities, you can always combine wood with steel. Because steel is more robust against water, you can incorporate it into your wooden beams. Keep them galvanized and primed so they can increase their durability. As for your reclaimed wood, ensure to check thoroughly for its quality. Because they’ll be used as beams, they need to be bug-free and treated with borate chemicals.
With steel and wood, you can produce a hybrid exposed beam that will look great in your classic home. These are bolted to form a beam capable of carrying a heavier load than when using wooden beams.
4. Consider Making Headboards Out Of Reclaimed Wood
Another idea to use reclaimed wood for your home building is to incorporate them into your bedroom. There’s no need for you to purchase expensive queen beds and frames. You can elevate your current mattress and use reclaimed wood for its unique headboard. Use different shapes and styles of planks and use your imagination to create the best headboard suitable for your bedroom. Check out some easy DIY headboard ideas and make your bedroom look like it’s from a lifestyle magazine. Don’t forget to stain, seal, and apply varnish coats to the headboard to make them last longer.
A wooden headboard offers simplicity that can complement almost any bedroom design. They’re versatile to use as they can generate diverse styles. Each wooden headboard is unique, whether full board, shaker-style panels, or even rattan. If you want to transform your bedroom and make it as original as you are, it’s time to take advantage of reclaimed wood for your headboard.
Wooden headboards are also easy to clean. Over time, when dust, cobwebs, or spillages accumulate, you only need to wipe them off with a wet rug. It’s ultimately the least-maintenance headboards that you can find.
5. Add Them Into Your Outdoor Or Garden Ornaments
You don’t have to shell out a lot of money to transform your outdoors into a relaxing place. You can repurpose and recreate many outdoor elements and even garden ornaments with reclaimed wood. For one, you can arrange reclaimed pallets and use them as garden beds. Because they look rustic already, you don’t have to add fresh layers of paint. Perhaps a coat of varnish is enough to prolong their quality.
You can check your home’s exteriors and see where old wood can elevate the space better. They’re also excellent materials for your porch or deck if you decide to have one. Because they’re great flooring options, you can design them unevenly and uniquely on your deck, adding more aesthetic value to your exteriors.
However, consider the types of wood when using reclaimed lumber as they will be exposed to different weather conditions. Find wood species that can withstand heavy rain and strong downpours. Examine any wood previously used for outdoor applications for deterioration or insect infestation to ensure it is fit for use.
6. Use Them For Your Architectural Structures
The simplest way to use reclaimed wood is for your architectural structures. Whether you need to set up posts, build foundations, or other structures, reclaimed wood can help you with that. You can find companies specializing in reclaimed wood siding and planks from old homes, barns, and industrial buildings. Take advantage of this lumber for your home building.
Many construction companies who want to save resources would prefer to use old lumber for their new construction project. This is to minimize their footprint and environmental impacts. However, because these reclaimed woods also need labor and other tasks, you might have to pay the same when using new lumber. Yet the catch here is that you can be guilt-free and assured of using sturdier lumber as reclaimed woods are known for their durability.
The key is to research and compare prices when opting for reclaimed wood. Before starting a significant project, do your research and compare costs. Reclaimed wood may come with imperfect markings and forms, which can contribute to the design and appeal that you’re aiming for. If you’re thinking of adding some exterior architectural structures like a treehouse, shed, or garage extension, these old lumber materials might be more preferable to use than other costly materials.
7. Add Wooden Accent Walls
A home should make use of accent walls for it to stand out more from other similar homes. Reclaimed wood is a good material to create accent walls in your home’s interiors.
Reclaimed wood can make excellent accent wall designs for your bedroom, hallway, living room, or kitchen. You can also create a window or door border with reclaimed wood. You can retain its original rustic look and feel and skip on adding paint to it.
Reclaimed accent walls add more life to your dull and plain home design by giving off a luxury feel and a vintage-inspired look. You can use them for your bedroom and living room, too. They can be the right wooden accents to keep the balance of your home’s modern and vintage design.
Conclusion
Many homeowners are now becoming more aware of how much environmental impact they can make out of their home building project. This is why using reclaimed wood for different construction projects has risen through the years. Reclaimed wood will never fail to get the results you want, especially if you’re aiming for a rustic and vintage house feel. With so many ideas and possibilities for using reclaimed wood, you can create a guilt-free home made of guilt-free and durable materials as explained in this article.