Reclaimed Flooring

If the budget allows, we want to use reclaimed wood flooring in most rooms, and then slate or tile in the Bathrooms and Mud Room.  We think we can get the slate or tile at a local supplier or Home Depot if the local places are not competitive.  For the reclaimed flooring, it's the same.  We will look locally, but so far that seems way too expensive, so we are looking at large shops that are out of state.

For everything, we will always look to local suppliers first as we believe in community, but will use national chains or suppliers out of our area if the quality or price is much better.

Kim and I had a conference call with Dana from Mountain Lumber on Friday.  They research old buildings around the world that are about to be torn down, buy beams, siding, floors, etc. and then bring it back to their location to condition and mill it for resale.  Their flooring looks beautiful, but like most out there, expensive.  If you look at their website (Mountain Lumber Floor Types), we're focused on finding something like the Reclaimed 'Authentic Distressed Heart Pine' or 'Granary Oak'.

We have asked Dana to send the following samples, which includes the two above and some others that are a bit less expensive:

• Reclaimed Heart Pine - Authentic Distressed (minimized variation of color)
• Reclaimed Hardwoods - Granary Oak
• Reclaimed Hardwood - Homestead Hardwoods Distressed  (minimized variation of color)
• Reclaimed Hardwood - Homestead Hardwoods Smooth  (minimized variation of color)
• Reclaimed Engineered - Distressed Antique Oak
• Reclaimed Engineered - Historic Heart Pine Distressed

Reclaimed Engineered is different from Reclaimed in that it's really a thin piece of reclaimed wood over plywood vs. solid reclaimed and milled wood.  It's less expensive and comes finished.  We're considering mixing up the flooring in the house and perhaps using solid wood downstairs and engineered upstairs to lower the flooring cost.