Is reclaimed timber cost effective?
Yes!
Well, that was an easy one to answer. You’d be reasonable to ask, however, for a bit more information than that. Let’s look a little into the hows and whys of reclaimed timber’s cost and why it’s the perfect choice for your next project, job, or big idea!
What are you paying for with newly milled timber?
When you buy timber that’s been freshly cut down, there’s a lot of costs included in that sticker price. These can include but aren’t limited to the actual cutting down of the tree, transport to the mill, milling into slabs and planks, storage while it air-dries, or kiln space to kiln dry, transport to the store or warehouse where it’s further processed or sold, and any further manufacturing or milling between the mill and you. Each of these tasks also requires a range of highly skilled people working jobs that are often remote and dangerous, and are all physically intensive.
Even timber that was milled in the same state as you can go on a long journey between the forest and the shop floor, and each part of that journey is someone’s job, with the associated costs involved. As a result of these costs, companies involved in milling new timber often figure out ways to work at scale or with higher efficiency, which involves solutions like growing monocultural forest crops, or clear-cutting native forests. Unfortunately, while these may help lower the end cost of timber, they rack up a bill of costs to the local environment instead.
What are you paying for with recycled timber?
When we talk about recycled or reclaimed timber, we mean timber that has had a previous life or use. As a result, when it starts its journey to us, all of those costs mentioned above have already been invested into that material. In the same way you might think about the “cost per wears” for a new piece of clothing, the more uses we can get from a piece of timber, the better that initial investment of labour was.
This is especially a good thing when the alternative would be for that material to end up in the bin – not only not having the benefit of reuse, but actively contributing to the issues with growing landfill.
Recycling timber is not cost free however – it also needs to be transported and processed, but the cost of doing so is still lower than the costs involved in processing and transporting newly milled timber from a forest.
When the timber arrives in our warehouse our team lovingly removes any nails or other metal that are in the timber, and machines it so it’s square, straight and flat – perfect for a new use or home, and always at or below the market rate for new hardwood timber.
The best thing about reclaimed timber is you know exactly what you’re getting – 100% natural wood – which means if and when you’re done with it, you can then use the timber for a new use, or someone else can take it and reclaim it for another whole life!
Why do I have to pay for it, can’t I just reclaim timber myself?
Absolutely! Reclaimed timber is everywhere around us – any local sites that are doing demolitions or renovations, council clean ups, or the sheds of friends, family and neighbours. All of us who started Among The Trees got into reclaimed timber exactly this way.
However, once you’re starting to work at scale, or need timber at specific sizes, dimensions, or species, it can be trickier to find reclaimed material around you day-to-day. That’s where we come in! At Among The Trees, we can help you find exactly what you’re looking for, and provide advice based on our experience of finding reclaimed timber Sydney-wide.
If you’re interested in learning more, come and visit us in store to see the range of timber we have available and how we can help with your next project!
