WeatheredBlend Hardwood Timbers is a mix/blend product that combines the strengths of several reclaimed and non-reclaimed weathered/aged timber sources to provide an optimized timber package. WeatheredBlend Hardwood Timber sources include, but are not limited to:
WeatheredBlend Hardwood Timber packages will often draw heavily from RubyHardwood and/or RubyOak product lines. They generally will have a significant amount of rustic character. The amount and type of character will vary from piece to piece.
Often mixed hardwood timber packages will be heavy to non-Oak hardwood timbers. If you are interested in a package of Oak weathered timbers, check out Trestlewood's WeatheredBlend Oak Timbers.
| Products Involved | Trestlewood's WeatheredBlend Hardwood Timbers involve a mix/blend of various sources of reclaimed timbers and timbers naturally aged/processed to give them a weathered appearance. Trestlewood products that can be included in a WeatheredBlend Hardwood timber package include, but are not necessarily limited to, Trailblazer Hardwood Weathered Timbers (see Spec Sheet #6101 for Oak Trailblazer Hardwood Timbers; this spec sheet would also apply to mixed hardwoods (but would involve mixed hardwoods in lieu of Oak)), Hardwood Weathered Timbers (Spec Sheet #6101; replace Oak with mixed hardwoods), RubyHardwood Resawn Timbers (Spec Sheet #6147), Hardwood Sleepers, and NatureAged Hardwood Timbers (Spec Sheet #6130.) Blended products are results oriented - they increase Trestlewood's ability to help economically achieve a look desired by a client by freeing up the strengths and inventory of multiple complementary product lines. |
| Species | Mixed Hardwoods. May include elm, ash, beech, maple, hickory, oak, gum, wild pecan, others. |
| Source | Reclaimed Timbers: Barns, corncribs, stables, trestles, mills, homes and other buildings/agricultural structures and construction/industrial projects from different locations in North America. NatureAged Hardwood Timbers: Raw timber stock that is processed into NatureAged Hardwood Timbers comes from a variety of sources, including: i) timbers resawn from wood (timbers, logs) reclaimed from various salvage projects, ii) timbers cut from beetle-killed, fire-killed or dead-standing trees; iii) timbers cut from material which has weathered out of spec, and iv) new timber stock. |
| HC/FOHC | Generally Heart Center (HC) |
| Metal | Allowed. Nails, bolts and other fasteners can be removed, cut flush or left as-is. Some metal can be broken off inside the beam. |
| Mortise Pockets/Notches/Holes | Mortise pockets and notches from the original joinery are allowed (this would be especially applicable to Trailblazer Hardwood Weathered Timbers.) Nail, bolt, peg and other fastener holes are allowed. The quantity and size of mortise pockets and holes can vary widely from timber to timber, with some timbers containing very few or none and others containing frequent mortise pockets, notches, peg holes and nail holes. |
| Checking/Cracks | Timbers generally have checks from the heart center to the faces of the timber. In addition, timbers can have surface checking and cracks, moderate butt checking and minor end splitting. |
| Moisture Content/Stability | Air-Dried. NatureAged Hardwood and RubyHardwood Timbers tend to be somewhat more stable and less prone to shrinkage than are green timbers. Reclaimed timbers come from a variety of sources with a wide range of ages. Reclaimed timbers will generally be at least as stable as NatureAged Hardwood and RubyHardwood Timbers. Moisture content and stability can vary significantly from piece to piece. |
| Surfacing | Original timber surfacing ranges from smooth-planed to rough-sawn. |
| Weight | Varies; typically 3.5 to 4 pounds per board foot. |
| Grading | Weathered hardwood timbers can sometimes be graded (WLCB or similar.) Timbers are graded with exception taken for any mortise pockets, holes and/or other characteristics not addressed by new timber grading rules. |
| Color/Appearance | Weathered. Amount and type of weathering varies, sometimes even within a given timber (i.e., some faces of a timber can be more heavily or differently weathered than other faces.) Surface degradation (water damage, surface rot or "punkiness", etc) is common. Weathered timber colors vary; common colors include browns (common for interior weathered timbers), grays (common for exterior weathered timbers), and combinations of browns and grays. In some cases, weathered timbers are sawn from larger timber stock, resulting in one or more fresh-sawn faces. Such fresh-sawn faces can often be "juiced" to help them blend in with more weathered faces. RubyHardwood Timbers can play a key role in providing dimensions that are difficult to get from other hardwood timber types/sources. RubyHardwood timbers often have a combination of weathered and fresh-sawn faces (which fresh-sawn faces can be "juiced" to help them blend in with weathered faces.) |
| Appearance Variation | Weathered timbers will generally vary in appearance from piece to piece and even within a piece. The weathering (amount, mix of colors, etc) and other characteristics of one face can be substantially different than the weathering and other characteristics of another face. Some weathered timbers are cut from larger weathered timbers, giving them one or more fresh-sawn faces. Trestlewood sometimes uses one or more "juicing" processes to help fresh-sawn and/or less weathered/aged faces blend in with weathered/aged faces. All else being equal, juicing is more likely to be used in situations where (a) timbers are cut from larger timbers (thereby creating fresh-cut faces); (b) Buyer wants all (or most) faces to look weathered/aged; and/or (c) Buyer desires to increase the consistency of the weathered/aged look from face to face. |
| Dimensions | The ability to pull from various hardwood timber sources gives Trestlewood the ability to provide a good range of timber sizes and lengths. Timbers larger than 8" x 10" and/or longer than 16' are generally more expensive per board foot than timbers to 8" x 10" x 16'. Dimensions are generally nominal. The more latitude the customer can provide in acceptable timber sizes, the better able Trestlewood is to meet the customer's timber needs in an economical and timely manner. |
| Target Mix | Depends on the sizes and look/characteristics desired by Buyer. Many WeatheredBlend Hardwood timber packages will involve at least 2/3 of the board footage in reclaimed timbers from various sources. |