Building Philosophy and Capabilities
As a full millwork shop we can handle most wood and metal projects. Our specialty is using reclaimed lumber because of the unique nature that the finished piece achieves from the aged materials that go into it. We do not seek to compete with standard products that can be mass produced oversees. Our goal is quality and something unique that cannot be mass produced. The way we manufacture product has quality control measures and construction techniques that maintain flatness, stability, square, and dimensions; you get the look you want without the problems that are typical in reclaimed materials. We do not aim to be the cheapest, but we strive to provide sensible value and lasting quality. grades of reclaimed wood.
You choose the level of character and species of wood that you like. We will sort and grade our lumber to meet your preferences for color and texture. Our specialty is to keep the beauty of reclaimed lumber but not have the customer sacrifice quality or have difficulty with the install due to the rugged nature of reclaimed materials. For this reason most of our products are engineered or taken from original old boards and through a milling and gluing process reformed into a structurally sound yet still beautiful piece of work.falling down old barn.
Our millwork is a snapshot of history. Each board that we mill is a page out of a storybook. Most of our material comes from barns in the Northwest that crews have salvaged. These barns have many tales to tell. It is not unusual to be using wood from a barn that is a 100 years old.
Many of the farmers that we talked to have told us that their grandfather was a child when the barn was built. When you look at one of our reclaimed wood doors you can almost hear the stories pop out of the old wood. Many artifacts show up in the barns during demolition. Sometimes our metal detectors find bullets in the wood. One time we found a bullet in a board that was shot when it was still a tree; the wood had grown around the bullet and left no hole. Imagine how long ago this happened? The barn it came from was built at the turn of the century.
Our doors are built entirely out of reclaimed lumber unless the customer specifies otherwise. The wood we use is salvaged from turn of the century industrial buildings, salvage and demolition of barnwood barns, fences, and outbuildings that otherwise would have been destined to rot, burn, or go to the landfill. Our business is not a demolition business. The barns are carefully taken down so that each individual barn board can be saved. Most of the structures come from farmers that are thankful to have them removed because they were a hazard and beyond repair. We encourage people to save, restore and protect historic landmarks; it is not our purpose to compromise our quest to find beautiful wood by taking down a building that should be protected.
The following are some advantages of using reclaimed lumber: stable and dry material, beauty that cannot be manmade or duplicated, individual, unique, tight grain, responsible use of resources, saving materials from being wasted, points for LEED certification from USGBC, made local entirely in the USA with American employees and materials, species and grading that are not commercially available, and timeless beauty like an art piece.
Not all reclaimed lumber looks like barn wood. Barn lumber can come in various patinas from blond to deeply weathered and stained. Most of our local lumber in Idaho is pine and fir, but we have regular sources for hardwoods such as oak, chestnut, elm, cherry, walnut, hickory, ash, and maple.
Some customer's projects don't lend themselves to the rustic appearance of reclaimed lumber. If that is the case, let us sort our lumber to grade according to your preference, or we can order FSC certified lumber such CVG fir or clear maple. We can satisfy the most discriminating tastes between an old barn door to a contemporary, flat panel with clear grain door. We consider every order a custom order and design it specifically for the customer’s taste. If you don’t see what you want in our gallery, don’t be afraid to ask for something different.
During the ordering process we provide very detailed bids and drawings. Specifications are very clearly spelled out prior to any work being done. Our goal is a fully satisfied customer. We guarantee your product will arrive in sound condition, and we stand behind our quality with our warranty. We build our product with such strict quality controls, though, you should never have to worry about using the warranty.
Most of our product is shipped out of state with the majority going across the country to the East Coast. Customers find that we provide great value and service. We will ship straight to your home, jobsite, business, or have it held at a shipping terminal. Delivery is done by enclosed van freight carriers. When considering the cost of the product, freight is usually an insignificant part of the total costs. We must collect sales tax for deliveries in Idaho.
Our shop equipment has oversized machinery capable of handling your custom order. All of our equipment is tailored to work with the nuances of reclaimed materials from the outside sawmills & bandsaw resaw, kiln, wide width planer and overhead sander, and a huge 15' x 5' triple layer cold press for laminating. A number of our machines are in duplicate to assure no downtime and maximum capability; for example we own 13" and 16" resaws, 43" and 53" wide belt sanders, two 40' Nyle dehumidification and sterilization kilns, and two different manufacturing locations to keep operations always running. All this specialized equipment is designed around keeping the texture that you love from the reclaimed materials, getting tight glue joints, and accurate tolerances.
We are very open to custom design ideas, and we are not limited by "industry standard sizes." This is your one stop shop for quality millwork.
