# RECLAIMED LUMBER



## JoeCII (Dec 28, 2011)

Is anyone aware of where i could possibly find some reclaimed lumber? Ideally im looking for an old barn that is ready to collapse, i would even be happy to do the demolition and clean up! There really isnt many things that can compare to demolition! I live in Charlotte and i was just wondering if anyone knew of any locations where a barn / shed would be availabe for some wood harvesting. Im not really to picky on what type of lumber you might have so please feel free to let me know. Thanks so much!

-Joe - Charlotte NC


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## Elizabeth (Oct 17, 2009)

I see a lot of offers for reclaimed wood on Craigslist; sometimes the wood is already down, and sometimes it's still in barn form! Takes a lot of creative searching but I've scored some good wood through CL.

Edited to add: here's a link to the Charlotte CL search results for "reclaimed" :

http://charlotte.craigslist.org/search/?areaID=41&subAreaID=&query=reclaimed&catAbb=sss

That wormy chestnut looks interesting! And I'm sure with some other search terms you can find more.


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## Elizabeth (Oct 17, 2009)

And here's another, where you have the option of taking down the barn for a discount:

http://charlotte.craigslist.org/mat/2760732671.html


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## cranbrook2 (May 28, 2006)

The best thing to do is take a drive in the country and look for old barns . Thats how i find them


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## terrilynne (Jun 24, 2010)

Elizabeth is on the right track. Look in the free listings, materials and wanted. You can also post an ad that you are looking for used lumber and are willing to tear down old buildings. Of course they may require that you tear down and remove it all.


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## IrreverentJack (Aug 13, 2010)

Joe, Try using Searchtempest.com . Here is a search for 'barn wood' in 'materials' Every Craigs List in a 150mile radius from Charlotte's zip. You could tweak it to 'hard wood', 'lumber', etc.. A lot of choices in your area. Good luck. -Jack


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## cranbrook2 (May 28, 2006)

The problem with finding reclaimed wood on the Internet is you will most likely pay through the nose for it . Most reclaimed wood that is sold online is way over priced . Like i said you are better off to go out in the country and look for it yourself . Chances are most farmers don,t have a clue what reclaimed lumber is worth and they will let you take it away for free or cheap .


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

Try Freecycle.org There are a number of groups in the Charlotte area.


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## Sawkerf (Dec 31, 2009)

Be careful if you try to take down an old barn. I've worked on a few, and torn down two. The biggest problem is trying to figure out how to remove all of the "add-on" stuff that got put in over the years. Do it right and it's usually no problem. Do it wrong, however, and stuff can come crashing down around you.

Don't expect to score truckloads of primo lumber. Most barns were built with whatever was handy (and cheap) and the years have taken their toll. Contrary to what AARP tries to tell us, older ain't always better. - lol Barns that housed livestock can have lumber that stinks too badly to even throw on a fire - let alone try to re-use.

John says that reclaimed wood is overpriced but I'm not so sure. My (limted) experience is that the price of the decent lumber is reflecting the actual cost of demolition and disposal of the whole barn.

I wouldn't count on a farmer not knowing what reclaimed wood is worth. Most of them get to town pretty often, have TV, and even internet. If they're willing to let you take it away for free or cheap, there's a good chance that they're doing it to save themselves a lot of hassle. Most farmers and ranchers I know love letting some smooth talking city boy run out enough rope to hang himself.


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