Replies

1. 
   DavidxDoud | Jan 17, 2003 07:06am | #1

   well,  'it depends'   - not to be cute,  but what exactly are you talking about?  species,  dimension,  quantity,  condition,  in place or removed and cleaned? etc etc -

1. 
   Jeff1 | Jan 18, 2003 07:39am | #2

   There is pine rough cut one and a quarter by six plus by eight plus and there is also ship lap that is planes so thats a so that not as old as the rough cut heavier stock then there are timber of oak and pine from 3 by 5 all the way up to 8*8+.  Remember the conditon is good and the nails are pulled.

   Edited 1/17/2003 11:43:08 PM ET by woodsy

1. 
   jgaiennie | Jan 18, 2003 06:10pm | #3

   Woodsy,

   What's your wood worth?  Old wood is an asset that is easy to sell for a handsome sum if you work at it.  Who's your customer?  Sell this stuff to someone who has plenty money, and you will certainly be able to command a better deal for yourself.  The businesses advertising old materials in Fine Homebuilding and on the web are definitely not giving it away.  Check 'em out.  Outrageous prices!!!!

   In my area - Louisiana, old wood is valuable if it's in good condition.  There's a strong market for it.  I know of an old mill torn down in the '80's and cypress timbers sold depending on thier quality for $.50 / bf to $2.50 / bf.  I believe that if it were done today, the $.50 wood would still be $.50, but the 2.50 wood wood be probably around $3.50 to $4.00.  In the mid '90's I bought about 10,000 feet of great shape longleaf beams for $1.50/bf from a dealer / reseller and a fair amount of resawn rough longleaf boards at $2.50.  I negotiated a good deal for myself as I know some of his regular customers were paying more.  I believe those same dealers are selling their beams for $3.50 to $4.50 now, but I havn't been involved in negotiations, so I don't know what level of bargining is going on.

   Beams are prescious if they are usuable as they are - as exposed beams in new construction.  Generally old beams in our area are longleaf pine, but the wood variety doesn't really matter that much if some one is shopping for the "rustic" barnwood look.  What matters is appearence.  You may find an end user who is willing to pay $3.00 to $4.00 / bf for your larger stuff if it's nice looking, but I would bet you're more likely to have to settle for around $1.50 to $2.00.

   Cabinet shops here are easy customers for someone who's got a trailerload of nice old pine or cypress.  Generally they are not so interested in 3/4" thick material.  Cabinet shops are looking for full 1", or better even 1 1/8", and stuff that will dress well.  I would expect to be able to command $1.50 to $2.50 for nice stuff, depending on the quality and width of the pieces. 

   Another possibility is a an end user or a builder shopping for an end user.

   Good luck.

   jdg

   Edited 1/18/2003 5:29:31 PM ET by jdg

2. 
   DavidxDoud | Jan 18, 2003 10:21pm | #4

   well,  jdg assumes you are selling,  not buying -

   my take,  if I were buying - the shiplap is only good for use 'as is' - a common material,  if the weathered face is pleasant and there is enough for a paneling job,  I'd think in terms of $2-4 per 8' board -

   the 5/4 pine is a little more interesting,  although fresh sawn material can be had for less than $.50 per board foot,  so I'd look at the quality of the board, appearance, quantity and do some head scratching at what it could be used for - if it has to be surfaced,  there is a real cleaning job to do,  metal and grit run into a planer take the economy out of used material quickly - if it's quartersawn,  clear heart material it's an entirlly different situation from flatsawn common material -

   the beams - - usually one face of a beam has nails associated with it - the exception being interior frame members from high in the structure,  a small percent of a typical barn frame - the beams can be used as is as mantels or frame members,  in this case the quality of the surface (broad axed or sawn?) length and patina are the considerations in value - again quality of the tree is a consideration,  most barn timbers I have seen contain the heart of a tree,  so resawing generally yields mostly flatsawn boards which usually contain plenty of knots, and yield is limited by that face with the nails - I'd wager I could find metal in those oak beams that had siding nailed to them - I'd make a close examination of the quality aspects and it would take an exceptional beam to carry value such as jdg talks about -

   so there you go - 'it depends' - quality and quantiy - whether you are buying or selling - good luck - DOUD