RECLAIMED PITCH PINE

From American soil to English shores.

 

Pitch Pine (or longleaf Pine) played a key role in the growth and development of the United States as an economic power.

 

The exceptional structural quality of the Pitch Pine was utilised in bridges, wharves, trestles, posts joists and piles.

RECLAIMED PITCH PINE

The wood was even used to build the first ships for the English and American navy.

 

Use of this Pine on US ships dates back as far as 1794 when the U.S.S Constitution, known as “Old Ironsides,” was commissioned to be built with a keel made of single heart Pine timber and decks made from Pine planks.

RECLAIMED PITCH PINE

Pitch Pine continued its historical impact with the ruling of King George II, who mandated that all straight pines exceeding 24 inches in diameter would be considered property of The Crown.

 

He then ordered his surveyors to brand the Pines with his mark of a broad arrow. In response to this proclamation the colonist starred and feathered the surveyors. This act is considered by many to have been a precursor to the Boston Tea Party.

Reclaimed pines with history and meaning

THE STORY OF OUR RECLAIMED PINES

Reclaimed Pine flooring can be sourced from wood retrieved from all manner of different places. This can include woods from recently built structures and maybe even material from packing cases or farm buildings. This tends to be fast grown spruce or pine from Scandinavia.

However, the most sought after material comes from historic buildings and structures from the 19th century. This is where the far oldest pines that originated from North America are found. These old growth woods include Douglas Fir, Pitch Pine, Canadian Red Pine and Cypress Pine.

Many of these woods came from the primeval forests of the North East and North West coastal regions of America. These forests have been untouched for thousands of years and contained some of the finest woods ever to be harvested.

Reclaimed wood flooring is not limited to a specific location, age or species and we have an extensive selection of these timbers in our Woodworks by Ted Todd portfolio.

EXPLORE PINE FLOORS

“Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world” 

John Muir

RECLAIMED DOUGLAS FIR

The name Douglas Fir honors David Douglas, the Scottish botanist who first reported the nature of this pine species.

Originating from the western coast of the United States, this evergreen tree grows in dense forest areas and has naturalised through Europe and South America.

The tree’s heartwood produces a light pink tone with a wide circling grain pattern, and inside you’ll also find tight growth rings.

Despite the perception of Pine as a softwood, Douglas Fir is used for joinery, veneer, flooring and construction due to its strength, hardness, resilience and durability. Even the only wooden ships still currently in use by the United States Navy are crafted using Douglas Fir.

OUR DOUGLAS FIR FLOORS

RECLAIMED COLUMBIAN PINE

British Columbian Pine planks contain clear lined grain patterns and strongly defined growth rings and is very similar in origin to Douglas Fir.

The trees which this pine comes from grows to tremendous heights, with some reaching up to 100m tall.

Once felled the seasoned wood would travel to the UK from America via boat. This popular wood was used in many historical and listed buildings throughout the UK in the 20th century and remains at the heart of many today.

We are pleased to be custodians of some of these reclaimed planks and our artisans enjoy working with this natural beauty.

RECLAIMED SWISS PINE

Grown across the Alps and other mountainous regions of Europe, Swiss Pine is a wood that typically experiences the harshest of weathers and coldest of temperatures, making this one of the most resilient woods we have.

The tree grows very slowly, living up to 1,000 years, so you can only imagine the tight and plentiful growth rings inside the wood.

Throughout history the use of the Swiss Pine family has been documented.

Many carvings in Val Gardena, Italy have been created using this wood, it was the field sign of the Roman legion in 15BC and still features on the coat of arms of the German city of Augsburg to this day.

RECLAIMED HEART PINE

Heart Pine refers to the heartwood of the tree, which is the wood’s non-living center.

This wood has real strength, hardness and a beautiful red colour.

Before the 1700’s, the USA’s Southern states were home up to 90 million acres of long leaf pine forest, where this Heart Pine grew.

Heart Pine played a key role in the Industrial Revolution and was used extensively in the 18th and 19th century for ships, log cabins and flooring before having more modern uses in hotels, Victorian houses, palaces and beyond.

As this pine’s forests reduced in size, the wood became protected from logging, so only reclaimed options are available nowadays.

OUR RECLAIMED PINE WOOD FLOORS

Our master craftspeople and development team have been working alongside Pine for decades and have honed their skills expertly throughout the years to bring out the best this timber has to offer.