Recycling Old Wood
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Q: I am trying to look for prices on recycled wood. I have 10" lap board cedar on a dormer that was built in 1969. Granted it isn't that old but I sure hate to throw it out. Is there a price directory of all wood that I can log onto to see what current recycled lumber goes for? Also is there a price directory for recycled aluminum and that kind of materials?

A: Try www.resourceyard.org for pricing. You may want to think outside the box for the siding and think art and craft items. I use that same siding for picture frames, bird houses and bat houses. The price of aluminum seems to fluctuate. I did a google search for - Recycled Aluminum Prices - and came up with a good list of that has that information.

Q: I would like to know what types of things I can make from old barn wood and poles. I would like to just add cute little pieces to the landscape. Do you know of any free plans for this or websites with free pics and ideas. Any suggestion you can offer would be greatly appreciated. I have a lot of this type material that I would like to somehow use.

A: As an artist and craftsperson, I am constantly on the lookout for exactly what you have. I love creating little signposts for plantings to garden divas to chase away bad vibes. There is a book, Art from Found Materials (or something like that) that has wonderful ideas. I tend to just let my mind wander and let the environment I am designing for make suggestions.

Q: For reasons of environmental sensitivity, beauty, and history, I'm trying to use salvaged barn wood in a home renovation project that I'm doing. But I've started to become concerned that the wood might be treated with various chemicals and/or pesticides that would survive the re-milling process and be toxic to my family. Do you think this is a possibility? How could I go about determining if the wood is safe for my home.

A: (Jennifer Corson) You are approaching this reuse situation in the correct manor. Salvaged wood can be a wonderful material to work with, though also brings with it many potential irritants. Barn wood may be have been in contact with hazardous material such as oil, lead or pesticides. It can also harbor insects and carry mold spores. If you are able to mill the wood exposing four new surfaces (take great caution locating foreign metal object, ie. nails and spikes, with a metal detector!) then your only concern should be any moisture/mold or penetrated hazardous material. A good way to check is to isolate a sample of the wood in a plastic bag for a couple of weeks. Open the sample with family members there to see if there is any sensitivity to smelling the sample. A more thorough check would be to take a sample of the wood to a hazardous material removal company for testing.

Q: We are in the process of converting our garage into a family room. I have access to used cedar fence pickets. These are standard 1" x 4" x 6ft. We are wanting to take the pickets and convert them to use as the interior wall covering instead of paneling. Is this reasonable? The ceiling of one of the adjacent rooms is a tongue and groove pine. Something along that line is the look we are going for. What are the steps involved and the equipment necessary convert the fencing into slats for use as an interior wall covering?

A: (Jennifer Corson) - use a hand-held metal detector on pickets prior to any re-milling of pickets, rusted off nails can be dangerous during re-milling
- verify that no lead-based paint has been applied to pickets. LBP can be dangerous if it becomes airborne during sawing or sanding processes
- consider using pickets as a wainscot (vertically applied from floor up to 42" h, or full height of picket) with a drywall upper half
- use a horizontal wood strapping (1 x 3) at 6" off floor and 36" off floor for a continuous attachment point for the pickets
- test for the look of the picket in an unobtrusive area prior to starting entire project

Q: In the Austin metroplex area, there seems to be a proliferation of used wooden pallets. Is there any building style that incorporates this type of non-treated reclaimed wood? I'd love to be able to use this for something.

A: Pallet homes have been around for quite some time now. There are several techniques to using them. First one needs to rebuild them so that the slats are together. The best method I have found is to use a sawzall with a metal blade and cut the slats off at the nails then rebuild them. Next, start to frame your walls by overlapping the pallets to give you double thickness pallets. You can insulate with straw, plastic, paper or whatever else you prefer just by stuffing it into the pallets.

Pallets have also been used for walls by driving T-bar posts into the ground and sliding the pallets over the posts. You can stucco them when you are done. There should be more information on the web.

Q: I have searched the internet over and over for some type of plans for using wood pallets to build a small one room cabin. I have seen the pallet shed and chicken coup, and was wondering if someone has more? I have access to hundreds that will be filling the local landfill and this would also help with lumber cost.

A: I believe you have already found your answer in the pallet wood shed. By combining that information with how-to's on insulating and waterproofing you could have a great little one room cabin. That site is www.summerville-novascotia.com/PalletWoodShed.

Q: I have been given a tobacco barn that is approximately 15-20 years old. I would like to reuse as much of the materials from the barn as possible. The barn has been painted black within the last 5-7 years and was likely painted at least once before that. Are there health risks from reusing the barn siding in the construction of a cabin?

A: My first thoughts are: Will you be using the wood on the exterior or interior? I do not see a  problem with exterior use. I have heard of folks using wood from a tobacco barn for interior use but do not know if they treated the wood or not. I would assume that there would be no health risk as these barns were only used for drying purposes. You may want to do some research into the tobacco drying process to see if any insecticides are used. I cannot give you a definitive answer on this one but I hope it will help in your research.

Q: My original thoughts were that we would use the barn siding for both interior and exterior of our cabin. The lumber is only painted on one side so I thought: 1) for exterior & interior - we could put the painted side facing the interior of the cabin. The inside of this painted wood would be covered in black felt paper and insulation. Plus what ever new surface we put on the walls. 2) for flooring - we could turn the painted side down toward the ground with insulation on the ground side of the wood. Does any of that make sense? Any more thoughts?

A: Yes, this makes total sense.  If you were real ambitious the floors could be sanded and sealed with one of the great environmentally friendly sealants on the market today.

Q: I'm looking to build a retaining wall using railroad ties. The wall will be right at 3' high and about 75' long (along the side of my driveway). I am wondering about support for the wall. I have rebar that I am intending on using, but would that be enough? Any input would help!

A: (Kelly) People have successfully used railroad ties for retainers before. You can connect the ties together with rebar stakes, but that will not necessarily keep the wall from toppling over. You can also run the rebar down into the ground a ways, and this might do the trick, especially if you use very heavy duty rebar (greater than 1/2"). Another approach to make the wall more stable would be to lean it back into the area you are trying to retain. Or sometimes people will install perpendicular anchors from near the top of the wall that go into the bank some distance to help hold them in place.

Q: I was wondering if it OK to use wood pallets for projects, or are they toxic?

A: Pallets are great for any building project. If you need to pull them apart, use a sawzall (reciprocating saw) with a metal blade to cut the nails that attach the planks to the base wood. Trying to pull the nails with a nail puller does not work as the nails are made not to come out.

Q: My husband and I recently tore down an old barn and would really like to find a way to reuse the wood as flooring in our home, but after spending hours on the phone and internet we cannot find any resources that tell us IF it can be done or HOW to do it....any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. There are plenty of sites out there that offer to sell us a product that would accomplish the same thing, but we would like to use our own wood and do the work ourselves.

A: A lot depends on what you want the final floor to look like and what shape the wood is in as well as the thickness. Do you want a even shiny look or rough and worn? The thickness will determine how much of a subfloor you will need. If the planks are at least an inch thick there is the possibility of putting them directly onto the floor joists. I would use a good construction grade glue in addition to nails or screws. Square or star drive deck screws are best as they will not pull up over time and are easier to drive. If the
planks are less than an inch thick then a 3/4" - 1" subfloor is a good idea. If your planks have a consistent thickness and you want a polished look then get a floor sander otherwise using a wire brush on a drill works well to bring out the grain. It is best to do test planks first to see if you are getting what you want before jumping in and finding out that what you are doing is not what you want. Spend some time dialing in your technique and start in the corners or around the edges.

Should we put some kind of sealer on it after installation?

I suppose that is a personal choice.  There are many great sealers on the market that are environmentally friendly.  The advantage of a sealer is that it can protect you from splinters and protect the floor from stains and such.  You may want to test out some of the oils that are also available.

Q: I am looking to sell wooden pallets but I have not found any buyers in the border of south Texas. I work in construction and often I am given the pallets that are left behind. I like the idea of recycling.

A: (Kelly) You might contact:  infoATworldhandsproject.org or Alfred von Bachmayr at 505.989.7000 for information about their work with using used pallets to make roof trusses in areas around the Mexican border. website: www.worldhandsproject.org I applaud your interest in keeping the trees!

Q: I have an old building  that is pretty old and almost ready to fall down on its own, but the lumber is all grayed and weathered but still strong. Maybe you could give me some ideas of who to contact in my area that might be interested.

A: Some ideas: List the building on craigslist.com ; put notices up at supermarkets; ask sales people at lumber yards.