Chestnut, a North American species, was a commonly used building material during
the early growth of America. This tree is currently extinct due to Chestnut
Blight in the early 1900's, making this material a rare and highly prized find.
Following the blight some of the standing dead wood was infected with small
borers lumbered. This dead, damaged wood is called “Wormy Chestnut” and is still
a significant portion of our Reclaimed Chestnut flooring.
Chestnut is gathered by dismantling old barns, buildings and structures. Thus,
Chestnut tends to have many of the characteristics of a reclaimed product. It
can be remilled to obtain a nice clean look, or planed down just enough to keep
some of its weathered surface.
Most chestnut is characterized by its aged patina coloring, small worm hole
patterns, nail holes, bolt holes, stress cracks and cuts. The sapwood of
chestnut tends to be a light brown color, while the heartwood tends to range
from honey brown to a dark chocolate.
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