Offset the cost of kitchen update...by selling the cabinets!
May 8, 2013 5:40 PM Subscribe
As mentioned before, we live in an old house. One of the many interesting (ahem) design choices of the previous owners was to craft kitchen cabinets out of wood taken from the attic - thick hard pine at least 250 years old. The wood is gorgeous, the cabinets, not so much.
The kitchen feels dark and rustic, and not in the good way. This gorgeous, ancient wood is chopped up into the pieces that form the cabinets - the boxes and the doors. It ranges from pieces ~10" x 18" to 16" x 36". It's still about 3/4" thick at least.
It's really a shame, because it could have been used for glorious floors or furniture. If we were to pull it all out and put it some more functional - to us - cabinetry, can you think of a market for the wood? If there isn't one, we'll probably just leave it. It seems a shame to consign it to the trash.
The kitchen feels dark and rustic, and not in the good way. This gorgeous, ancient wood is chopped up into the pieces that form the cabinets - the boxes and the doors. It ranges from pieces ~10" x 18" to 16" x 36". It's still about 3/4" thick at least.
It's really a shame, because it could have been used for glorious floors or furniture. If we were to pull it all out and put it some more functional - to us - cabinetry, can you think of a market for the wood? If there isn't one, we'll probably just leave it. It seems a shame to consign it to the trash.
Agreed with the above recommendation. Also, where are you located?
posted by buttercup at 6:34 PM on May 8, 2013
posted by buttercup at 6:34 PM on May 8, 2013
I buy things like this on Craig's List. Take a picture of it and also measure it.
If you don't sell it you can donate it to your local Habitat for Humanity Resale store.
I don't know who buys where you live, but, yes, there are people who would love to buy that wood.
Rehistoric
posted by cda at 6:40 PM on May 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
If you don't sell it you can donate it to your local Habitat for Humanity Resale store.
I don't know who buys where you live, but, yes, there are people who would love to buy that wood.
Rehistoric
posted by cda at 6:40 PM on May 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I won't throw it in the trash, I promise. At the least, we'll just leave it in the kitchen. We're in the Northeast US, and there are king boards in other rooms.
posted by heigh-hothederryo at 6:45 PM on May 8, 2013
posted by heigh-hothederryo at 6:45 PM on May 8, 2013
Look around your area for "salvage", "reclaimed", "historic", "antique", "recycled", "barn wood", and so on. We used to have a furniture maker in town that used reclaimed 19th century barn wood, but they were a victim of the recession. You are certain to find a similar business in your neck of the woods, and if they can't remake it into something else, they can maybe use it as is for freestanding cabinetry -- or for another client that wants what you don't.
posted by dhartung at 6:54 PM on May 8, 2013
posted by dhartung at 6:54 PM on May 8, 2013
If it were my house, I would remove the cabinets, take off the doors, and stack the "boxes" in an interesting grouping against the living room wall, open-side out, to use as bookshelves. (Discreetly fastened to the wall for extra stability.)
But hell yeah, there's a market for the wood.
posted by desuetude at 8:07 PM on May 8, 2013 [2 favorites]
But hell yeah, there's a market for the wood.
posted by desuetude at 8:07 PM on May 8, 2013 [2 favorites]
What folk have said above, but some additional thoughts.
Yes. Assuming no rot or bugs, any timber that's been seasoned inside for 250 years is worth recycling. Best case in your own kitchen! But assuming you want to sell it to offset renovation costs:
In commercial terms you've got a fairly small amount of quite small and thin pieces of wood. That will limit your ability to sell to larger commercial recycled timber dealers. They're typically looking at buying bridges, commercial buildings, whole houses.
So It's just a thought, but it strikes me that if there is going to be a significant market for the whole lot as timber, it may be to an antiques restorer. The fact your wood is old and very well seasoned means that it's likely to mesh better as replacement panels in antiques that have been damaged - it'll have similar grains, be less likely to warp, less likely to take on different colors after staining, etc
Or you could consider selling the cabinets whole. You may hate the style, but someone's bound to love it and the "antique wood" angle should be a major selling point.
If you do decide to break them up and sell yourself, the size of the wood dictates your market a little. You're likely to need to sell directly to cabinet makers, luthiers, boat-builders (as interior timber).
To do that, I'd avoid jumping straight onto craigslist or ebay. Treat it as a last option.
In terms of accessing the market, locally it's often word of mouth. If you or your friends know anyone who works with wood, ask them whether they or anyone they know might be interested. Carpenters might have to spend their days slapping in shitty cladding, decking and particle board as fast as they can, but often they go home and make the beautiful things they can't at work. Or they know people who do. And you selling in that environment comes down to a community thing. You may well get a better price just because you are visibly willing to hand over your kitchen to someone who loves wood. Even if no-one buys, ask anyone who looks at your wood if they can tell you exactly what you've got (type of pine, age, where from, etc). It will be valuable info later.
Also, there's a huge number of specialist woodworking forums out there. And recycled timber is a major source of interest in many of those forums. The older stuff often has grain types that are now unavailable, it can be matched to antiques for repairs, luthiers often think it sounds better, boat builders and cabinet makers like the fact that it's less likely to warp than kiln dried timber, it's less reactive to metal nails and screws, etc. Just google recycled timber forum. Again, even if any particular forum doesn't become your market place, try to learn more about what you've got, what it's best for, etc.
And at the end of the day, if you end up selling on Craigslist or another general trading site, at least you'll have the basis for one hell of a description.
posted by Ahab at 9:40 PM on May 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
Yes. Assuming no rot or bugs, any timber that's been seasoned inside for 250 years is worth recycling. Best case in your own kitchen! But assuming you want to sell it to offset renovation costs:
In commercial terms you've got a fairly small amount of quite small and thin pieces of wood. That will limit your ability to sell to larger commercial recycled timber dealers. They're typically looking at buying bridges, commercial buildings, whole houses.
So It's just a thought, but it strikes me that if there is going to be a significant market for the whole lot as timber, it may be to an antiques restorer. The fact your wood is old and very well seasoned means that it's likely to mesh better as replacement panels in antiques that have been damaged - it'll have similar grains, be less likely to warp, less likely to take on different colors after staining, etc
Or you could consider selling the cabinets whole. You may hate the style, but someone's bound to love it and the "antique wood" angle should be a major selling point.
If you do decide to break them up and sell yourself, the size of the wood dictates your market a little. You're likely to need to sell directly to cabinet makers, luthiers, boat-builders (as interior timber).
To do that, I'd avoid jumping straight onto craigslist or ebay. Treat it as a last option.
In terms of accessing the market, locally it's often word of mouth. If you or your friends know anyone who works with wood, ask them whether they or anyone they know might be interested. Carpenters might have to spend their days slapping in shitty cladding, decking and particle board as fast as they can, but often they go home and make the beautiful things they can't at work. Or they know people who do. And you selling in that environment comes down to a community thing. You may well get a better price just because you are visibly willing to hand over your kitchen to someone who loves wood. Even if no-one buys, ask anyone who looks at your wood if they can tell you exactly what you've got (type of pine, age, where from, etc). It will be valuable info later.
Also, there's a huge number of specialist woodworking forums out there. And recycled timber is a major source of interest in many of those forums. The older stuff often has grain types that are now unavailable, it can be matched to antiques for repairs, luthiers often think it sounds better, boat builders and cabinet makers like the fact that it's less likely to warp than kiln dried timber, it's less reactive to metal nails and screws, etc. Just google recycled timber forum. Again, even if any particular forum doesn't become your market place, try to learn more about what you've got, what it's best for, etc.
And at the end of the day, if you end up selling on Craigslist or another general trading site, at least you'll have the basis for one hell of a description.
posted by Ahab at 9:40 PM on May 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
> Look around your area for "salvage", "reclaimed", "historic", "antique", "recycled", "barn wood", and so on.
Specifically, search your local business listings for "architectural salvage," which typically handle small lots of all sorts of building materials like this.
There are many, many markets for small lots of wood like this. All sorts of craft artisan uses, plus more prosaic applications (like patching our 100+ year old plank floors up here in the Northeast.)
posted by desuetude at 10:28 PM on May 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
Specifically, search your local business listings for "architectural salvage," which typically handle small lots of all sorts of building materials like this.
There are many, many markets for small lots of wood like this. All sorts of craft artisan uses, plus more prosaic applications (like patching our 100+ year old plank floors up here in the Northeast.)
posted by desuetude at 10:28 PM on May 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
I have sold loads of old wood...sometimes just single pieces for hundreds of dollars.
It really depends on the size, quality, age, & amount of the wood that will set the price.
As far as who to aim your craiglist ad at; that would be architects, craftsmen-wood workers(bowl makers-artist-etc). I would advise contacting artist-expecally woodcrafters, and their shops-walk in, check out their merchandise, get a feel for what's going on.
If you have a place to store it, and aren't in a need of get this off your property right now, and are willing to take some time to find that right buyer, than you could potentially have a nice crop in wood.
posted by QueerAngel28 at 5:49 PM on May 8, 2013 [2 favorites]