Newsletter Archive

August 2010

August 20, 2010

Greetings!

10"X10"X18' Douglas Fir "Pit Wood"

Our company keeps growing and improving! Last month Pacific Northwest Timbers, our new yard in Port Townsend, Washington, was officially certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

Crossroads has always provided reclaimed lumber as an eco-friendly building material and plans to soon be FSC certified. For Pacific Northwest Timbers, FSC Chain of Custody Certification is a verification that our post-consumer and post-industrial products help to protect the world's forests. We are proud to be a part of this organization that encourages responsible forest management. You can learn more about the Forest Stewardship Council at www.fsc.org.

This month we're featuring wood from a unique source. We have been affectionately calling the material "Pit Wood," because it is being excavated from a mud pit 80 feet wide and 1,400 feet long! This Redwood and Douglas Fir was a wooden platform at a cattle feed plant built in the 1930's.

"The Pit": Redwood and Douglas Fir
timbers were preserved underground
at this former Cattle Feed plant

For 50 years train cars would dump sugarbeet pulp down an incline to the platform where the pulp was mixed with cattle feed to be reloaded onto train cars and then transported to feedlots. The feed plant was closed in the 1980's and the platform lay untouched, preserved in the mud, until the Summer of 2009. Don't let these timbers' muddy origins bog you down! The platform lumber looks very old but is in good condition. Wood can be preserved underground due to the lack of oxygen, so this material is perfectly sound, and most of it is straight as the day it was milled over 70 years ago!

We're selling this material as-is and not resawn because of rust spots from disintegrated nails that could damage our saw blades, but the roughcut look on these beams is especially remarkable. Roughcut beams like these are ideal for trellises, landscaping, and other outdoor timberworks. Scroll on down for more photos of the Redwood and Douglas Fir "Pit Wood".

Excellent use of full dimension original patina Douglas Fir timbers. Emerson Residence in Los Banos, CA.

Our Pit Wood is all priced at $2.50 per Board Foot. Wire brushing costs an additional $0.50 per Board Foot. The dimensions are as follows in 8-20 foot lengths:

Douglas Fir - 10X10 & 10X12

Redwood - 2X4, 3X8, 3X10 & 4X6

Imagine recycled, eco-friendly Douglas Fir and Redwood posts and beams in your next project. Send us an email or give us a call at 559-877-3645 and we'll be glad to answer any questions you have.

Thanks very much,

The Crossroads Team

We are a small company and proud of our work. Thank you for making responsible choices in building materials.

Phone 559-877-3645
Toll Free 888-842-3201
Fax 559-877-3646
Info@CrossroadsLumber.com
http://www.CrossroadsLumber.com

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The Pit

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2x4x16'
4x6 & 2x4 Redwood
4x6 Redwood
4x6 & 3x10 Raw from Pit
Brushed 10x10 Fir
Full 3x10 Redwood
3x10 & 4x6 Redwood
The Pit

November 2009

November 9, 2009

Greetings!

The Summer of 2009 has treated us well here at Crossroads Recycled Lumber. With our planer-matcher now up and running Crossroads can now mill our own tongue and groove, ship-lap, and paneling patterns. We're very excited about this addition that greatly increases Crossroads' capabilities!

Raw Western Pine Flooring

This month we'd like to share with you a bit about our are 1 3/8” thick X 7, 9, and 11” wide Western Yellow Pine (also called “Knotty Pine”) out of Tracy, California.

Western Yellow pines are the most prevalent pine species in the Central Sierra Nevada, made up of Ponderosa Pine at lower elevations and Jeffrey Pine above 3,500 feet. Historic homesteads across the American West are full of Western Yellow pine ceiling and siding material as well as cabin and barn wood.

Western Pine

Some of our Western Yellow pine stock was deconstructed from the Tracy Defense Depot, which was a sub-depot of the California Quartermaster depot of Oakland during World War II. As roofing in the Army Depot, these boards covered food, medical supplies, and other essential materials on their way to troops and installations in the U. S. and the Pacific overseas combat areas.

This salvaged tongue & groove pine probably went unnoticed in the high ceilings of the huge, old Army warehouses, but when it's cleared of nails and remilled, these beautiful boards are often the showpieces in a home or business. The yellow-blonde pine wood, contrasted by rich brown tight knots makes beautiful wall or ceiling paneling, wainscoting, or soft flooring. Keep in mind that as a floor this Western Softwood will sustain dents and scuff marks. Some people love this effect and will intentionally mark up the floor. There's a story of a rancher who walked horses over his new Pine wood for a Pioneer flooring effect.

Western Pine Finished Floor

The “as is" old dimensions we have are 1 3/8” thick X 7, 9, and 11” wide, 10 to 15 feet long. To make flooring and paneling we remill this stock to either 1/2" or 3/4" thick x 6 1/2", 8 1/2" or 10 1/2" wide, run to Tongue & Groove patterns. Cost on this is usually $5.50 per square foot. We can also cut old-fashioned pine paneling patterns; beveled edge, V-center, Channel Rustic (WP 2, WP 4, WP 10), etc. Cost of the patterned products ranges from $4.50 to $6.50 per square foot. While experimenting we've found that wire-brushing the old face of this wood lets an absolutely awesome color and texture shine through. Wire brushing is an extra $0.50 per square foot.

Imagine knotty pine lining your walls, ceiling, or floor on your next project! Send us an e-mail or give us a call and we'll be glad to answer any questions you have.

Scroll down for more images of beautiful Western Yellow Pine inventory.

Thanks very much,

Sophie Carrillo-Mandel
Sustainability Director
Crossroads Recycled Lumber

Beautiful Reclaimed Western Yellow Pine

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Flooring

Knotty Pine Raw Stock
Knotty Pine Finished
Knotty Pine Finished

Siding & Paneling

1"x8" V-Bevel
Ponderosa Pine Paneling
Ponderosa Pine Remilled 1x8 V-Groove. This pine in our office has a non-toxic Low VOC oil wax finish.
Note 'Channel Rustic' Lap Pattern on Right Side
1"x 6" Brushed Shiplap
Ponderosa Pine
Brushed Shiplap 1x5
Freshly Resawn Spruce, Left
Old Patina Pine, Right
Wire Brushed Recreated Pine Barnwood Siding