Reclaimed Old Growth Slabs Now Available!

We’re happy to announce that we now have a wide variety of old growth redwood slabs in stock!  They come to us from Matt Harbour with Harbour Quality Redwood Products, another family-owned and operated business located in Willits, Ca. Over the last decade, they’ve collected, milled, and surfaced some incredible slabs from the Mendocino forests, specifically the Noyo Basin. 

For more information, check them out at: https://harbourqualityredwoodproducts.com/

What is “Old Growth?”

Old growth timber typically comes from forests who have yet to be harvested. These trees have been allowed to grow naturally for hundreds of years without human interference. The compact natural forests result in slow growing trees as they compete for sunlight and nutrients in the soil. This creates an extremely dense wood with many benefits both cosmetic and structurally. However, due to the slow growth rates, decreasing availability, and added protection of virgin forests, second growth redwood has become the standard for lumber. Old growth can no longer be harvested from living standing trees. This means all old growth collecting should come from a log or stump already on the ground or purchased as reclaimed lumber.

Will my Lumber be Old Growth?

Nope! When purchasing redwood lumber for your fence or new deck, you’ll typically be purchasing second growth redwood which is anything grown in a forest that has been or is currently being logged. The most common practice for harvesting redwood is timber farming where trees are planted annually, or on a rotation of every couple years, and this allows a continuous supply of trees just old enough to be harvested. One of the major downsides to farming redwood is that the trees are often not given the opportunity to grow to their full potential and therefore the quality of the redwood is much lower when compared to redwood that is milled from full grown, healthy redwoods.

At KP & Son’s, we believe the quality of redwood is much higher when we log from small, independent timber plans working in conjunction with the California Department of Forestry. Harvesting limited amounts of larger, more dominant redwood trees allows the smaller, surrounding redwoods more room, sunlight, and nutrient rich soil to grow. This method also gives young saplings a fighting chance to reach their full potential and become a massive tree that may one day be harvested to create room for the next generations. This practice is essential in that our beautiful redwoods continue to grow to their amazing heights and hopefully remain a sustainable resource for generations to come.