Want a floor that makes your home feel lively and lived in? Consider reclaimed wood flooring. These types of floors feature high-quality upcycled wood that’s been sourced from warehouses, barns, old homes, and factories. If you’re looking to give a warm, rustic touch to your living area, bedroom, or the whole house, read on to discover the many benefits of installing reclaimed wood flooring:
- Improves with time
Reclaimed wood made of oak has a prestigious appeal because of its distinctive characteristics. If you’re changing the floor of an older home, replacing it with reclaimed oak can help keep its look consistent. On the other hand, installing reclaimed wood in a modern house infuses character. One of the best things about reclaimed flooring is that the color and tone of the wood only gets richer with age. Also, every piece of the wood has a unique character. Whether it’s a peg hole or an original saw cut, these signature marks speak of rich stories.
- Eco-friendly
To many, the most intriguing aspect of installing a reclaimed wood floor is its eco-friendly footprint. Because it’s sourced from old homes and warehouses, manufacturers don’t need to cut down many trees to accommodate its supply. It’s basically like they are recycling wood to produce boards. As you already know, deforestation has a significant negative impact on our environment, and by installing reclaimed wood floors, you can reduce that impact.
- Unique
With the majority of modern home floorings, there are only a couple of customizations (pre-selected) offered to you when ordering boards for your residence. It tends to be quite uniform and lacks the artistic touch and depth which makes reclaimed lumber unique.
Reclaimed wood can offer a broader selection in terms of style and nuance and even size (wider boards may be available with reclaimed). Want “wormy” flooring with more holes or wood that is more heavily veined? You can get that with reclaimed wood. Moreover, wood species like American chestnut and longleaf pine are only available in flooring made of reclaimed boards. Each piece of reclaimed wood flooring or siding features exclusive and exquisite tones. Team them with wooden cabinets and tables for a raw and timeworn appeal.
- Provides stability
Reclaimed wood can offer greater stability than conventional wood. Floors made of hardwood are notoriously volatile, reacting to temperature and moisture fluctuations by contracting and warping. Reclaimed hardwood, on the other hand, has experienced years of exposure to these types of temperature shifts and humidity. This makes it suitable to be placed in spaces featuring radiant heating systems. It is also much stronger than virgin wood because it is taken from old-growth forests rather than first-generation trees.
- Easy to maintain
Many people find that reclaimed wood floors are very easy to care for. That’s because most of them have been sealed and treated to become resistant to water and stains. As a result, it’s much easier to remove any moisture or spills. Although some floors are susceptible to scratches, they’re simple to sand out and seal again. Plus, you can always remove damaged boards and replace them rather than re-installing an entirely new floor.
- Holds its value
Based on the condition, species, and source, reclaimed wood floors have the ability to retain value as unique pieces of history in the home market. Once installed in your home, reclaimed wood’s value will continue to rise and add to the market value. Freshly cut lumber may not offer the same bang for the buck.
So now that you know the benefits of reclaimed wood, you may be wondering about the price tag. Depending on what sort of wood you’re planning to install, you may even be able to score a bargain. And reclaimed wood is a sound value. The dryness of reclaimed wood secures it from spitting and warping, which means you won’t need to replace it for years to come.
At Rocky Mountain Reclaimed, a subsidiary of Rocky Mountain Forest Products, we also source a faux version of reclaimed wood that offers many of the benefits of reclaimed wood with a great selection and very reasonable prices. Contact our Colorado offices to learn more.
