Note saw marks and nail holes. The hand sanding and finishing doesn’t show, nor is it meant to. It is intended to bring out, not to conceal, the imperfections.

Harvested from the “industrial forest”, that is, demolition salvage, the original builders would be astonished by the beautiful interior finishes produced by Historic Flooring, LLC, of Johnson City, Tennessee from lumber resawn from timbers and planks that were originally used for strictly practical applications in archaic mills or agricultural barns. Far from hiding the damage and wear these elements have sustained in service, Historic Flooring celebrates it, using every measure conceivable in order to highlight these features. They aren’t selecting out the damaged wood, but rather selecting it in. Nineteenth century antique oak planks, used as flooring and stair treads, hand sanded and micro beveled at all four exposed edges and protected with a hand rubbed finish all brings out the unique, expressive patina. One telling, and labor intensive, detail is the walnut “butterfly stitching” of split wood. From the link, other projects such as countertops with black walnut inlays and pegging are featured.

List of Antique Wood Flooring Specialists.

Oak stair treads, note walnut butterflies stabilizing a split in the oak.

Another project, a countertop. Heart pine with black walnut inlay and pegging.