Kansas City, KS, Sept. 1--Mark Callison is on a quest to save old wood. When the 30-year-old Mission Hills, Kan., man hears about a barn slated for demolition in the Midwest, he's there. Board by board, he and a crew of two others deconstruct about 20 barns each year.
"These wonderful barns are disappearing," says Callison, who owns Elmwood Reclaimed Timber, a Kansas City mill and showroom that salvages antique barn wood for flooring, trim and furniture. "People aren't going to spend the $30,000 or more to fix them, so this is the best way to preserve them."
Callison's work is part of the growing reclaimed wood movement, an environmental way to reuse antique wood and prevent young trees from being cut down for lumber. It seems to be catching on locally; Elmwood's sales have grown 400 percent in the past year, Callison says.
Reclaimed wood businesses nationwide are also growing rapidly, according to the August issue of Architectural Salvage News, a trade publication.
Although many flooring showrooms nationwide carry hardwood flooring made from old structures and sunken logs from riverboats, Elmwood is one of about six major clearinghouses for salvaging wood, milling it and giving it new life. The other big places are on the coasts. Elmwood's wood also comes from warehouses, train depots and storm-damaged trees.
