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Age Is The Rage, Knock On Wood

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The Associated Press

Published: July 24, 2008

NEW YORK - It's one of the rare occasions when it's OK to gawk at the flaws of the very old. Designers and architects are plucking wood from old barns and other structures to give new projects a dose of character that otherwise can be hard to come by.

Although mixing old with new isn't, well, new, the demand for the beauty of decades-old wood is helping some people who collect and sell the bones of old buildings prosper in a difficult economy. Interest in the wood known as reclaimed lumber appears to be growing in part because the boards can fit tongue and groove with the environmental goals of some projects.

Many construction-related businesses have had demand fizzle as the housing market has retreated, but David Sacia has seen orders for reclaimed wood grow. The owner of Reclaimed Lumber Co. in Baraboo, Wis., mainly sells to wealthy homeowners on the East and West coasts and the designers and architects they employ. He says business is still growing, just at a slower pace than in recent years.

"It's up 5 percent this year. Every year it's usually up in the double digits," he said. Given what's gone on elsewhere in the market with stalled projects in both the residential and commercial construction markets, any growth is worth noting.

However, this isn't a business like a discount grocery chain or a pawn shop that benefits from tough times. Shoppers for reclaimed lumber generally pay more for their history-stained wood than for the new stuff.

"To buy the material is as much as new lumber and usually two, three or four times the cost," Sacia said.

With the higher price tag and ever-shifting tastes, Sacia once worried that demand for the wood, which is mainly used in flooring or in decorative accents, would prove a fad, but he's been comforted as notions about what can be recycled have spread beyond soda cans and newspapers.

"The word 'green' has come into play," he said, predicting the environmental bona fides of old boards could help sustain demand.

Anita Lang, principal at design firm Interior Motives in Scottsdale, Ariz., said clients are increasingly drawn to the idea of outfitting a home or business with something than can be reused.

Then there is the wood's resume: Its nicks and dents give it beauty, fans say. It also can be sanded and treated to preserve or minimize marks from a former life.

"It just continues to get more beautiful as you live with it," Lang said. "The other thing with a reclaimed floor is it's never dated."

She encourages clients to pay for the reclaimed wood and skimp on the more superficial items when they're building, renovating or redecorating.

"You can always come back and upgrade your sofa down the road," she said. "There is so much character that if a family would live on that they would just be adding to that patina."

Still, some clients have lately balked at paying more than $20 a square foot, when, for example, they can get a fabricated floor made to look old for about $17 a square foot. The difference between reclaimed wood and wood made to look old can be stark, she contends.

"You cannot totally replicate what 100 years does to something with factory equipment."

John Williams, a senior account representative at Mountain Lumber Co. in Ruckersville, Va., said he's seen some slowdown but that the pedigree of the wood the company sells - it's been installed everywhere from Mount Vernon to Monticello - is still drawing business.

"One of our barometers we're seeing here is how many requests we're getting for samples, and that's actually gone up," Williams said.

Tricia Thompson and her husband, Todd, own Enmar Hardwood Flooring Inc. in Mesa, Ariz. She said the gulf between those worried about their finances and those who appear undaunted has widened, and demand for the more expensive reclaimed wood continues.

"Your very high-end custom homes are still going out here," she said.

Big retail home decor stores, for example, will use reclaimed wood to add a sense of character to their stores and to add to their green credentials.

People looking to make a buck from reclaimed wood shouldn't necessarily go ripping down an old barn or home. Although standards vary, the wood has to be in good condition and buyers can be choosy.

Typically, the best deposits of lumber ripe for reuse are in the Eastern United States and parts of the Midwest where barns and homes were often built using large, old timbers rather than with more blue chip wood as the country pushed West.

Marc Cree, national sales and marketing manager at Vintage Lumber Co. in Frederick County, Md., sees increased demand for people hoping to profit from their old buildings.

Some prices have come down in recent years as more supply has hit the market, a benefit to those collecting the wood. Many barns can be had for $1,000-$2,000.

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