Reclaimed wood
Reclaimed wood, more of yourself inside an international trend
The international trend towards a more organic and less mass produced way of living is being seen increasingly, even here in Africa. There is a ground swell towards eating and living organically which can be seen in all retailers, from grocery stores to interior decorating shops, and spreading over to other consumable items such as cleaning supplies, fabric, beauty supplies and even pet supplies. Recycling timber has become more popular of late due to a widespread belief that by purchasing recycled wood, the demand for "green timber" will fall and ultimately benefit the environment.
The plank wall
This is a wall or small area of a wall which is faced with planks of wood to create a variety of looks.
It is both decorative and a practical device to incorporate the trend of reclaimed wood into homes and bring something of nature into living spaces. Planks might come from a variety of sources and be cut to the same size and selected for the variety of their hues.
Alternatively, planks can be stripped from a single item, either something that you no longer use, an old door for example. The wood is then cut into strips and these are then pieced together, like a jigsaw puzzle, to create a cohesive unit to decorate or clad a wall, creating a stunning feature wall an adding warmth to a room.
When putting together a plank wall you can go with a rough and ready look, or sand and varnish the wood to bring out the beautiful grain and warmth of the colours. As with all creative endeavours, the only real limitation is your own imagination.
Aside from dismantled old pieces of furniture or wood used previously as doors or shutters on buildings, pallet wood is often used for this type of project and can be sourced from various outlets.
Pallet furniture
Creating a headboard using pallets can be as simple as nailing two pallets together to create one piece long enough to stand behind your bed and create a rustic looking headboard or set of shelves which can be used to store treasured items and collectibles.
Furniture made out of any reclaimed wood is normally referred to generically as pallet furniture, and typically has more character than that made from new timber, or other materials.
Not only is it unique, but how you use it is a good reflection of your own particular taste and style. It is one of the many reasons making or purchasing pallet furniture has become such a popular trend especially among those who are keen do-it-yourselfers.
It is the perfect activity to let your creative juices flow, and gives you the satisfaction of having made something uniquely yours.
Pallets used as they are, but hung on walls and painted, or used in the garden as planters or storage for garden tools are just some ways the humble pallet can be given a new lease on life and turned into a feature item.
LEARN HOW TO
Visit Maker Space Foundation in Station Drive, Durban, at The Foundary, and learn how to make your own pallet items on Saturday, 14 November, 2015.
Visit their facebook page to see how to sign up and find out about forthcoming events.
Choose your reclaimed wood with care
Stewart Oliver owns a reclaimed wood depot in Trafford Road, Westmead, where he sells reclaimed wood and advises customers how to use reclaimed wood to create arts and crafts and even build their own furniture. He has been in the wood reclaiming industry for more than 40 years.
ADVICE
Asked what advice he would offer those wanting to begin making their own furniture or creating interesting décor using reclaimed wood he said finding the wood is relatively easy.
"Searching for suitable material can be most frustrating as interesting and usable pieces are often found in the most unlikely of places. The best way to discover useful material is twofold.
Firstly it is always wise to develop an attitude of seeing usefulness in all the waste that is leaving your home, observing possible usable waste in places that you visit and secondly, to Google ‘reclaimed , recycled, timber, boards, crates, pallet."
"You will be amazed at the variety and low cost of second hand pallets in the market place," he said.
Wood near the coast has particular issues which need to be addressed when re-using old wood.
"Near the coast woodborer is definitely a problem in old wood as the only way to deal with it is to have it professionally fumigated," he explains.
He says the way to identify the presence of wood borer is by looking carefully at the wood and the area around it. "Small pin prick holes and the possible presence of very fine dust," he explains, are indicators to look out for.
However, even the damage created by white ants can create beautiful patterns in the wood once the material is removed from the ground and treated.
"Once the material is removed from the ground the white ants disappear," he says.
"Wood rot also needs to be treated but there are chemicals available at your local hardware to apply after you have cut all the wood rot out,"
"Too much wood rot and you will not have any wood left! However, common sense can prevail if you face one issue at a time."
While there has been a move of late towards making recycling and reclaiming wood a norm of our society,
the sustainable part of this is the shift in consciousness of people on the planet who recognize that living in a world without waste is living in a world of abundance.
There is more than enough for everyone to live creatively and comfortably, but not while we are gobbling up our resources at the rate we are."Stewart has used his ethos of reclaimed wood in the building of his own home.
"Apart from the brick walls and thatch roof, our entire home is constructed out of reclaimed timber and other materials; doors, windows, floors, cupboards, staircases, decks, balustrades and we have a 100-year-old 2 square meter stained glass window in our bathroom we restored."
