Hardwood flooring
Reclaimed Wood Floors
Old wood with its marks and colour, installed as a sound, finished floor.
Reclaimed wood has already lived one life — as barn siding, beams or old flooring — and carries the saw marks, nail holes and colour that come with it. Those marks are the reason people choose it, but old wood also needs more checking before it becomes a floor.
We have installed reclaimed oak, pine and mixed-species floors in homes across Los Angeles, and finish them so the character shows without making the floor hard to live with.
What we check before installing
Every board is looked at before it goes down. We watch for hidden metal, loose knots, splits and boards that are too thin after milling, and we check the moisture of the wood, since reclaimed stock may have been stored in very different conditions from your home.
Boards that will not hold up are set aside for trim or cut out entirely.
Laying and finishing old wood
Reclaimed boards vary in width, colour and surface. We lay the floor out dry first, mixing boards so dark and light pieces are spread across the room rather than bunched together.
The finish is chosen to keep the texture: some floors are sanded lightly so the saw marks stay, others are sanded smooth and oiled. We make a sample on site so you see the result before the whole floor is finished.
Where the wood comes from
Reclaimed flooring is milled from wood salvaged from older buildings: barn boards, structural timbers and old floors. Each lot is different, so we look at the actual boards for your job before confirming the layout and finish, rather than relying on a small sample alone.
Leftover boards can often be used for stair treads, shelving or a mantel so the same wood carries through the house.
Licensed and bonded — CSLB #625535
How we run the job
- 01Inspect and sort the reclaimed boards.
- 02Check moisture in the wood and the subfloor.
- 03Lay the floor out dry to balance colour and width.
- 04Install, filling or keeping marks as agreed.
- 05Sample the finish on site, then finish the floor.
Our work
Reclaimed Wood Floors: job photos
Questions
Frequently asked questions
- Is a reclaimed floor harder to keep clean?
- Not with the right finish. Saw marks and nail holes are sealed along with the rest of the surface, so day-to-day cleaning is the same as any finished wood floor.
- Can reclaimed wood be used over a concrete slab?
- Yes, with the right preparation. Over concrete we check slab moisture and use a suitable barrier or an engineered reclaimed product.
- How is a reclaimed wood floor priced?
- Describe the job with "Get your estimate". You get a ballpark from our own price list before the site visit, then a written estimate once we have measured and seen the floor.