Although the production of solid wood parquet is a simple process and does not vary much from factory to factory, the situation is more complicated for manufacturers of modified wood parquet. To produce these parquets, buying raw materials is more complicated. Lumberjacks can’t cut ancient forest trees! A timber buyer cannot call a sawmill and order 1000 square meters of wood from the warehouse. In addition, when the material is found, it cannot simply be used for building parquet – what you see ready-made in your building.
Where manufacturers find raw materials for reclaimed wood parquet is only waste wood chips. Probably an old warehouse or a dilapidated factory! Some companies start prospecting themselves, others rely on intermediaries – that is, people in the suburbs of old structures that need to be demolished. They bring the wood to the parquet company where it is analyzed according to species, size and quality. The price paid is based on the buyer’s prediction of the yield of wood in parquet.
After purchase, the wood is classified based on species and the beginning and end of the boards for the metal detection stage (nails and screws in the board). This is where the workers carefully look for any traces of nails or other metal fasteners in the boards. Using pliers, hammers, nailers and any necessary tools, the metal is turned piece by piece so that the board is free of any foreign objects. Then they scan the wood with a metal detector to find hidden pieces. As much of the remaining metal as possible is carefully removed to minimize damage to the boards. At this stage, the pieces of wood go to the sawmill to be turned into usable lumber. After sawing, the parquet goes through the stages of drying and storage, and before going to the parquet factory, it is once again controlled by a metal detector.
In coastal cities, producers use completely different resources: logs from the bottom of a lake or river; Where they were drowned a century ago during the prosperity of the wood industry. Finding these logs is a long and difficult process. Manufacturers identify the location of old sawmills. Most of the logs have sunk as a result of the storm and have branches. Those that do not have branches, their growth rings are checked, which indicates old stumps. After finding the logs, they are pulled one by one by hand so as not to damage the bottom of rivers and lakes.
Due to the great difficulty in finding old logs, one must be very careful in cutting them. In the case of old pines, the logs are so full of oleoresin that they are easier to dry than fresh wood. Logs are usually air-dried and then sent to the kiln.
Whether the timber comes from an old house or from the depths of the sea, it turns old wood parquet into brand new. Parquet that has a history. And of course, this date can only be guessed.
