The largest problem with reclaimed lumber is the lack of universal standards. The "grade" varies from person to person, from company to company. The main reason for this is because of the varied conditions of the lumber. The condition of each board is as varied as the type of building it comes from, the location of that building, as well as the affects of weather and maintenance of that specific building along with species of wood used!

This heart pine has a natural weathered stain. How do you guage this on a grading scale?

 Since there is no grading scale for reclaimed lumber- Nail holes, worm holes, checking, and the things that make reclaimed lumber so warm and unique are technically defects. We (most people) tend to use the term "character" in place of defect. Many of the defects don't actually hinder the mechanical properties of the wood by noticeable amounts, and are asthetically pleasing. The biggest problem with not having a grade scale is not being able to tell what the exact condition is without physically inspecting the lumber. There have been a lot of problems with people  buying rotted, bug filled, warped, cracked, barn lumber with 30% or more unusable. In many cases the sellers just didn't know enough about wood to distinguish things like, species, active infestation of bugs, mold or rot.

Characteristics of antique lumber:

• -Low contraction and expansion (swell and shrink)
• -High ring count and tight grain
• -Authentic Patina
• -Unique staining and color
• -Bug tracks and Nail holes
• -Low number of knots because the trees were so large

One of the nastiest wood boring insects in the midwest and east coast is the powder post beetle. Some woods are more prone to infestation by nature. Chestnut is rarely touched by PPB's, and white oak is pretty resilient. The main factor that brings bugs to wood is the moisture content. The moisture content has a direct affect on whether bugs will attack the wood. So, when you have a leaky roof in a barn, it's only a matter of time until the moisture soaks into the wood and bugs take root.

Even if wood is infested with bugs, there is hope! The best way to kill any insects and larvae in wood is to heat it in a kiln until the core reaches 130 degrees fore more than 8 hours. This also kills eggs, mold and stabilizes the wood.