Previous Projects

Although most of our customers prefer to minimize shine; high gloss in an option. It really depends on the design you’re going for. Check out this picture of a 12 ft reclaimed wood table – regular sanding hemlock – premium epoxy / polyurethane finish – modifed trestle base – for Tom Barker, a designer from Toronto, Ontario.

Barnwood Table

Custom Reclaimed Wood Table Tops

Already have a table base? Is there a table in your house that could use a new top; but is otherwise fine? Consider putting a beautiful reclaimed wood top on it.. and saving the cost of an entire new table. With all the different tones that are found in authentically distressed wood, chances are that your existing base will blend well. Alternatively, a reclaimed wood top with a metal base can be a nice juxtaposition of aged and modern.

Picture: Newly made reclaimed wood top on an old coffee table base

We showcase our table tops on our website as they are the absolute centrepiece of any table; from coffee to dining. Perusing other sites I’ve noticed a lot of the bigger furniture companies will have all kinds of side shots of tables; emphasizing the base.

Here is an example from Restoration Hardware:

http://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/category/products.jsp?categoryId=cat1537023

Granted, the base style important (especially when it comes to seating).. but what will you be staring at as your eating your bacon and eggs?

Having delivered and set up hundreds of tables; I’ve seen a lot of different designs/set-ups. Our tables really radiate in spaces where the table top is made the focal point/centrepiece of the room. The easiest way this can be achieved in not having wood grain in the seating. A painted wood chair or fabric chair will contrast with the table top rather than compete with it.

For dozens of close-up examples of our tops – see the ‘Premium Epoxy’ button under the “Finishing” tab.

Gerald Reinink

Design and Sales

The new Hand-Hewn beam or Reclaimed Cedar Hydro Pole pedestal design is becoming one of more regular orders. This design is particularily ideal for when “every inch counts” – for example: downtown Toronto homes and condos/lofts. Having a single post maximizes room for seating on smaller sized tables (no corner legs). This design can also be extended up to 18″ on two sides – making a cozy kitchen table for a few people turn into a nice sized dining table at events.

With the increase of home owners combining their formal dining rooms and kitchens into one; we expect the popularity to continue.

I frequently get asked how I got into this business; so I thought I would use this blog entry to address that.

I started working part-time for a wholesaler of reclaimed wood long before I started the company in 2009. A friend of my parents needed help loading trucks, cleaning the salvaged wood from barns and factories, and scoping out new demolition jobs. I very much enjoyed this job as I got to explore historic buildings throughout Ontario and work with a range of reclaimed materials.

In April of 2009 I graduated from Conestoga’s business management program and started full time for the reclaimed wood wholesaler. My primary job was coming up with and marketing several new reclaimed wood products [flooring, siding, furniture]. About 5 months was spent researching and developing the barnwood furniture side of things – from design, building, and finishing. The most significant breakthrough came with the development of our unique epoxy finish; allowing the distressed wood to remain almost completely original on the final surface. HD Threshing Floor Furniture is the first company to use this finish, typically used in commercial applications, on a large scale.

Due to several variables, I was given permission by the owner of that company to take the furniture project and start my own company with it. This I did in Fall 2009 at 21 years old.

It didn’t take long and things started to grow. I was fortunate to have a very experienced building team almost right at the beginning [Edgar Beringer, Caleb Martin, Dan Beringer]. I started out with a small showroom [consisting of 1 table and a few samples] and grew from there. We’ve moved a couple times since we started; into bigger spaces. Our current setup of the building shop at Edgars farm in Elmira, the showroom, epoxy shop, and spraying facility in Cambridge is ideal.

I love running this business and hope to for years to come!

Which leads me to the second most common questions I hear…

What happens when all the barns run out?

Well, to be honest I’m not entirely sure. We will need to adapt; there will always be buildings coming down with wood in them. For the customer- they can know that their piece will only get only get rarer and more unique with time.

Gerald Reinink

Pine VS Hemlock

I often tell my customers who are familiar with wood to “forget what they know about Pine or Hemlock” when it comes to reclaimed. The difference between reclaimed to new Pine or Hemlock is substantial. See the blog “What’s the big deal with reclaimed?” to find out how original Canadian forest wood is a lot different from new wood you see at the lumber store.

For the most part, we only use Pine and Hemlock in the construction of our product. The primary reason for this is that, frankly, it looks the coolest. As these species are softwood; they have taken the biggest “beating”. This means the distressing from the work performed in the old building is most pronounced. You can see staining from organics, broad ax marks, cavities/colouring from square nails/metal, and the way the boards have been heavily worn from use [pronounced by the recession of the softest wood between the harder growth rings]. You simply don’t see this degree of character in other species of reclaimed wood.

What’s the difference between Pine and Hemlock?

Consequently, I get this asked a lot by my customers. I have listed here the primary differences between the two; and some of the unique features.

Hemlock

• Less colour [more “dull”/neutral tones]
• Spiralling cracks/splits [checking] as opposed to common straight cracks
• Harder & heavier than most softwood
• More uniformity of colour [no extreme difference of colour between a heavily sanded and lightly sanded board]
•  Brittle/splintery/ bad for slivers [hence the reason why we’re likely the only ones working with it – fortunately “we can get away with it”due our innovative finishing process]
  

  Hemlock

**Rarely used in furniture – but by far our most popular species choice due to the beautiful character and increased predictability of colour and tones**

Pine

• A lot of colour [reds, oranges, yellows, black, browns….]
• Straighter cracks [checking]
• Softer and lighter than most softwood
• Extreme lights and darks [extreme difference of colour between lightly sanded and heavily sanded
• Darkest Pine is darker than darker Hemlock [achieved by minimal sanding/maintenance of the majority of original patina]

  

  Pine

  *A better option when considering non-epoxy finish option [straight urethane, wax, unfinished] as decreased risk of splinters/slivers.*

In case your completely confused by now…

What most of our customers do is refer to a 1-3 table tops on the website, and then we determine the appropriate species/sanding degree to perform [as we don’t change original colour with stain]. Then, we carry these tones throughout other pieces you may want; from reclaimed wood tables to reclaimed wood hutches, buffets and benches. This approach has served very successful.

Ultimately, there is not a substantial difference between the two. If you come our Cambridge showroom, and see the many rustic tables displayed; you’ll likely have trouble to spot the difference between them.

A common nervousness for our customers is the unpredictability of working with reclaimed wood [especially when staining doesn’t occur]. We see it differently. As all the salvaged wood we use [and will continue to use long into the future despite the barns disappearing.. we’re stocking up..] is from the same era; the results from finishing will stay the same… age, grain, degree of patina/distressing.

The sanding is what it all comes down to; and we’re the best. We’ve done hundreds of reclaimed wood pieces and have the process nailed down. We can’t guarantee extremely specific characteristics; but we can guarantee a range of tones. There are basically 6 options – dark, regular or light Hemlock, dark, regular or light Pine.

Soon I will be addressing the issue of chairs & seating; another thing I get questioned about a lot. Given the volume of inquiries relating to this matter; we’re currently going “mad scientist” in the finishing shop on 10-15 solid wood, Mennonite-built chair designs to provide a line of chairs as part our product line. Keep an eye on the “seating” part of the website.

Thanks for reading! I’m hoping to increase the frequency of my posts I hear a lot of questions and can address most of them through this medium.

Gerald Reinink

OLD-GROWTH RECLAIMED WOOD TABLES

The wood used to build HD Threshing Floor Furniture comes from 150+ year old barns found throughout South-western Ontario. Throughout the surfaces of the material can be seen original distressing created by early pioneers – from the making of the barn to daily operation.

When Canada was formally settled [pre-Confederation – 1920s], the first thing pioneers had to do is build a barn for their animals and crops. This is why almost all the wood found in these old barns comes from the original trees that would have been growing.

In a natural forest setting, trees tend to grow tall rather than wide. This is due to competition for sunlight. The higher the tree went, the more sunlight it can get for growth. Current day forests are planted with the initial intention of eventual harvesting; therefore the trees are space far apart for ample sunlight. Since the tree will grow a lot faster, the growth rings will be further apart. Consequently the grain is much tighter in original forest wood. Larger sizes are available, as well, due to the fact that the trees were able to grow for almost unlimited periods of time. The trees that were cut down for the barns would have already been several hundred years old.

Once the barns were built, the wood would have been exposed for decades. With exposure, over time wood naturally darkens. This colouration is called patina. On some boards, the patina will go all the way through; and on others about ¼”; depending on the level of exposure the wood received in the barn.

All these elements contribute to the final look of HD tables. We never stain [as there is enough darkness to start with and this can be controlled by the degree of sanding performed], and never plain the tops [only sanding – this way as much of the original distressing is maintained as possible].

Each board is unique and has its own story to tell.

Less is more

Have you ever been in a home and felt you were back in the Victorian era? Where there’s so much furniture you can hardly walk around (without tripping over something)?

When furnishing a space, there’s a fine balance to be struck between having everything you’d like and making the space too cluttered/gaudy. If we all had massive 10,000 square foot homes, this wouldn’t be a concern. More often, however, you need to work with space. Less really is more for several reasons.

Furniture needs to serve the way you live, and not the other way around. Having been in many homes, I can tell you that the majority of people have more furniture than is required. Besides kitchen cupboards and table with a few chairs, how much of your furniture do you ACTUALLY use on a daily basis?

You know how they say you use 20% of your clothes 80% of the time? The same is true of furniture. Granted, it is nice to have flexibility for special events. But is it really a good strategy to set everything up for those events (which usually end up requiring some creativity anyway)?

Simply from an appearance perspective, having less has several benefits:

1)      Looks cleaner (and requires less cleaning!)

2)      Is inviting (no claustrophobia)

3)      Less congestion (as you don’t have a lot of different things grabbing your eye)

4)      Fewer colours to deal with! Colours are a tricky thing, and often improperly coordinated. The fewer you have, the less chance of everything becoming convoluted and inconsistent. Anything more than 3 colours + natural tone wood is too much!

5)      The furniture that IS there is more enhanced!

I once set up a table in a massive living room that had only two things – a grand piano, and the HDTFF table +chairs. The table and piano looked amazing because there weren’t other thing competing for attention.

So what do you do with the massive armoire that has been handed down and has sentimental value? Chances are you don’t use it very often, so your best bet is to put it in a part of the home you don’t use very often. That way, you don’t have it interfering with your day-to-day.

Keep things simple and minimalistic. It may mean detaching yourself from that desk you used back in your college days, or buffet that your aunt gave you, but in the end you’ll thank yourself.  You don’t HAVE to keep that ‘whatever’ just because you have it; all that matters is your present and future needs.

So now for how my obvious marketing spin – HD Threshing Floor Furniture looks awesome in any design scheme. I’ve delivered to almost every scheme in the book and the feedback has always been very positive. From what I’ve observed, however, is that it thrives the most in the simplest designs – 4 painted walls, 1 or 2 pieces of art on the walls, table +seating, and that’s it. HD’s reclaimed wood furniture is designed to stand out [one of the reasons, as well, why we never stain anything].

Gerald Reinink, Owner and Designer

Greetings!

From time to time, I will be posting articles on various topics related to design, our products, and general interest reclaimed wood furniture topics.

Stay in touch!

Gerald Reinink, Design and Sales, HD Threshing Floor Furniture