The Reclaimed Kitchen Company

Wood Types

Wood Types:
Our reclaimed, antique woods that we are currently using for countertops, island tops and bar tops are Southern Yellow Heart Pine (up to 1 1/2" thick) and Douglas Fir (up to 2" thick).

Antique Southern Yellow Heart Pine:

Southern Yellow Heart Pine is a very strong, hard, tight grain wood that makes for excellent countertops. The majority of this reclaimed wood is recovered from mills that are being dismantled throughout the Northeast. These large timbers were originally shipped up from the south to be used in the construction of mills during the Industrial Revolution because of their strength and resistance to decay. Once we buy these reclaimed timbers, we then de-nail them, have them re-sawn into planks and then kiln-dried to a furniture-grade moisture content of 6%-8%.

There are two grades of the Heart Pine that we typically use:

Heart Pine Clear: This grade combines the tight grain of quartersawn with the wider, flame-like grain of flatsawn in a clean, more formal looking countertop. This grade is mainly clear grain with very few, if any, small knots (up to 1/2") and nail holes.

Above sample photo: Heart Pine Clear with Early American Stain

Heart Pine Clear Stain Choices:

Natural- no stain (upper left); Cherry (lower left); Early American (upper right), Dark Walnut (lower right)

Southern Yellow Heart Pine Rustic: This rustic grade contains large and small knots in addition to possibly some solid checking and nail holes for a rustic, full of character appearance. All nail holes and other voids in the wood are filled with a wood filler so the finished countertop is smooth and easy to maintain.

Above sample photo: Heart Pine Rustic with Early American Stain

Heart Pine Rustic Stain Choices:

Natural- no stain (upper left); Cherry (lower left); Early American (upper right), Dark Walnut (lower right)

Douglas Fir:
Douglas Fir is native to the NorthWest and was shipped during the industrial revolution to be used in industrial mills throughout the NorthEast. Our current supply of Douglas Fir was reclaimed from the Heywood-Wakefield furniture plant in Gardner, MA. The building was converted to condos and during the renovation, a lot of timbers were removed for the new layout- that's how we ended up with these timbers. Douglas Fir is a lighter wood which is a honey color when simply finished with a urethane. We can also add a stain to the wood to reach your desired color. The two photos below have two stain colors, one is a darker, red stain for a rich tone (close-up photo to show wood grain); the second is a white-washed stain for a light, seashore tone. The grain pattern is usually a combination of tight grain, flat grain and random knots.