RECLAIMED HARDWOOD TIMBERS

One of Nova’s most innovative products is our reclaimed marine timber product line. Hardwoods that are especially suited for marine environments, like Angelique, Basralocus and Ekki, are used all across Europe in marinas, ports, naval bases, and in a variety of other fresh water and salt water projects. These hardwoods have been used for these types of projects for well over 150 years, and as such, have stood the test of time.

Unlike some alternatives like chemically treated pine, concrete, steel, or plastic, tropical hardwoods sourced from well managed forests, and implemented in these ways, have a low environmental impact as they do not leach any chemicals into the water or soil and have a very long lifespan. Even when their lifespan has expired the timber simply returns to the soil providing nutrients for new growth.

As these projects are either remodeled, renovated, or dismantled, the timber is pulled from the project and prepared for reclaiming. The hardwoods have such a high durability that even after decades of use in a marine location the beam can be used in a new project as desired. Although the exterior of the beams will show the wear and tear of natural weathering, the interior of the beams is still in perfect order. Resulting in a structurally sound beam that has the desirable look of reclaimed hardwoods.

The beams are pulled from their locations and taken to a yard where they are then sorted and the ends and any serious damage is docked out. The resulting beam will vary greatly from one beam to another depending on the original project it was installed in. In some cases, this could be a fairly straight clean beam with no industrial markings or cutouts. However other beams will have cutouts or markings from where one beam was connected to another. Some beams may contain a slight taper from top to bottom or may contain some wane edges. Each beam of reclaimed hardwood has it’s own story, adding to the unique identity, character and charm of the product.

As you can see in the picture above, we took a 15x15” beam, almost 7 foot long, and machined half of the beam while leaving the other half untouched. This results in a great example of what the material looks like with and without manufacturing and also shows just how little of the beam has any weathering effect on it. This particular beam was placed at a submarine degaussing station in Germany for 30 years before being pulled from the water and prepared for repurposing.

We take great care in ensuring the authenticity of our reclaimed lumber. By registering every beam and keeping records of their origins, we guarantee that all of our materials are indeed reclaimed. Even if a beam has been processed and may not have the typical appearance of reclaimed lumber, its records will confirm its origin and status as a repurposed beam. This process allows us to provide our customers with high-quality reclaimed lumber that is both authentic and sustainable.

We understand that some clients may prefer the look of new timbers but also value the environmental benefits of using reclaimed lumber. That's why we offer the option to process existing beams into a finished product that meets these criteria. We can resaw the beam to create a clean and fresh square shape, or we can use our CNC machine to completely manufacture an end product and pre-drill holes as necessary. Whatever the project, we are confident in our ability to manufacture it, as long as we have the necessary reclaimed beams to match the request.

The outer shell of the beams can also be removed through processing which will result in “fresh” material which will be difficult to tell apart from actual fresh production of timber while still being an actual reclaimed lumber giving the client the satisfaction of knowing that their product is the result of efforts being made to utilize our existing material rather than the need to cut down new trees to produce the end product the client desires.

Due to the reclaiming nature the supply for this material is extremely variable. While some beams may be only 8x8” in dimension or 6 foot long, other beams can be 25x25” in dimension and 40 feet long. Please do not hesitate to contact us with your requests as we will be happy to go through our current available inventory find a match for your request.