How to Sell Old Wood
Old wood harvested from torn-down or decaying structures can find new life when repurposed as "reclaimed wood." If it's a small amount of wood already disassembled from its structure, you can sell it in bundles to people who use it for crafts, hobbies and small construction projects. If you have a complete structure such as a barn, it can be easier to work with a timber company that buys reclaimed wood in bulk.
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Things You'll Need
- Dismantling tools as needed (hammer, saw, axe)
- Stretch wrap or perforated steel strapping
- Lumber crayon
- Pencil
- Paper
- Digital camera
Instructions
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Sell It to the General Public
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Remove all nails, screws, metal bindings and other building materials from the wood. It may be easier to saw or chop the wood into smaller pieces than to try to remove fasteners, depending on their placement.
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Package the wood in an easy-to-buy bundle. Keep like sizes together and set a standard weight or size for your bundles. You may want to have smaller bundles suitable for craft projects (five pounds of foot-long planks, for example) and larger bundles for bigger construction projects (blocks of 2x4s).
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Secure the bundles according to their size with plastic stretch wrap or perforated steel strapping.
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Mark each bundle with a lumber crayon. Indicate the price and contents.
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Take digital pictures of your bundles.
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Advertise your wood in the local newspaper, at craft shows or in online community forums. Include your photos, if possible.
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Arrange for payment, shipping or pickup with interested buyers.
Sell It to a Timber Company
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Catalog the wood. Write down as much as you know about the wood, including any or all of the following: what structure(s) it came from, the approximate date of the structure, the type of wood, the average size of the timbers, the color and any markings or paint.
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Take digital photos of the structure, if it still stands, and the wood itself.
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Price your wood. Complete barns may be valued anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars, depending on the type of wood used in their construction.
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Contact local timber companies by phone or email and ask about their policies for buying reclaimed wood. They may want you to send them digital photos and descriptions or they may want to send someone out to evaluate the wood in person.
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Ask about the company's packaging requirements. They may require you to take apart the structure, separate piles of similarly sized timbers, remove nails and building materials, and create bundles of a particular size for easy loading onto a truck. If they don't require any of this, they may ask for a lower price in return for doing these things themselves.
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Perform any packaging duties requested by the timber company and arrange for pickup or delivery as needed.
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Tips & Warnings
Never take old wood from a structure or property that isn't yours. You may need to prove ownership of the wood if you sell it to a vendor.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit old barn 2 image by Photoeyes from Fotolia.com
