Reclaimed Wood from the Pit

Greetings!

10"X10"X18' Douglas Fir "Pit Wood"
10″X10″X18′ Douglas Fir “Pit Wood”

Our company keeps growing and improving! Last month Pacific Northwest Timbers, our new yard in Port Townsend, Washington, was officially certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

Crossroads has always provided reclaimed lumber as an eco-friendly building material and plans to soon be FSC certified.  For Pacific Northwest Timbers, FSC Chain of Custody Certification is a verification that our post-consumer and post-industrial products help to protect the world’s forests.  We are proud to be a part of this organization that encourages responsible forest management.  You can learn more about the Forest Stewardship Council at www.fsc.org.

This month we’re featuring wood from a unique source. We have been affectionately calling the material “Pit Wood,” because it is being excavated from a mud pit 80 feet wide and 1,400 feet long! This Redwood and Douglas Fir was a wooden platform at a cattle feed plant built in the 1930’s.

10"X10"X18' Douglas Fir "Pit Wood"
“The Pit”: Redwood and Douglas Fir timbers were preserved underground at this former Cattle Feed plant

For 50 years train cars would dump sugar beet pulp down an incline to the platform where the pulp was mixed with cattle feed to be reloaded onto train cars and then transported to feedlots. The feed plant was closed in the 1980’s and the platform lay untouched, preserved in the mud, until the Summer of 2009. Don’t let these timbers’ muddy origins bog you down! The platform lumber looks very old but is in good condition. Wood can be preserved underground due to the lack of oxygen, so this material is perfectly sound, and most of it is straight as the day it was milled over 70 years ago!

We’re selling this material as-is and not resawn because of rust spots from disintegrated nails that could damage our saw blades, but the roughcut look on these beams is especially remarkable. Roughcut beams like these are ideal for trellises, landscaping, and other outdoor timberworks. Scroll on down for more photos of the Redwood and Douglas Fir “Pit Wood”.

Old Patina Reclaimed Wood Timbers In Use
Excellent use of full dimension original patina Douglas Fir timbers. Emerson Residence in Los Banos, CA.

At the time of this article’s publishing, our pit wood is all priced at $2.50 per Board Foot. Wire brushing costs an additional $0.50 per Board Foot.

The dimensions are as follows in 8-20 foot lengths:

Douglas Fir – 10X10 & 10X12

Redwood – 2X4, 3X8, 3X10 & 4X6

Click Images for a Larger View in a Popup Window with Navigation

  • Unfinished Ponderosa Pine Flooring2x4x16′
  • Unfinished Ponderosa Pine Flooring4×6 & 2×4 Redwood
  • Unfinished Ponderosa Pine Flooring4×6 Redwood
  • Unfinished Ponderosa Pine Flooring4×6 & 3×10 Raw from Pit
  • Unfinished Ponderosa Pine FlooringBrushed 10×10 Fir
  • Unfinished Ponderosa Pine FlooringFull 3×10 Redwood
  • Unfinished Ponderosa Pine Flooring3×10 & 4×6 Redwood
  • Unfinished Ponderosa Pine FlooringThe Pit

Imagine recycled, eco-friendly Douglas Fir and Redwood posts and beams in your next project. Send us an email or give us a call at 559-877-3645 and we’ll be glad to answer any questions you have.

Thanks very much,
The Crossroads Team

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