The reclaimed wood industry which began in the Northeast is now taking hold in the Northwest. As sources of old-growth
timber dwindle and environmental awareness grows, old wood is much in demand.
Duluth Timber Company, a Minnesota-based firm, is doing a booming business in Seattle selling reclaimed wood from
demolished homes, factories, warehouses, and even pickle barrels. The cost is often double the price of new hardwood
flooring, while the much prized American chestnut, a tree that is nearly extinct because of a fungus, can sell for as much
as $12 a square foot.
These old woods have found a strong market among those who love natural building materials but do not want to contribute
to the environmental problems that are sometimes attributed to logging.
Seattle Times
