ALEX PALMER It’s clear to visitors that they are entering wine country when arriving at the Dog and Oyster Vineyard.
And just because these wineries are only a few years old doesn’t mean they lack history or expertise. Take New Kent Winery, just east of Richmond. Though they only launched in 2008, the winery itself is constructed from 80% reclaimed antique building material, including pre-Civil War brick and handmade nails. The tasting room even houses a 160-year-old scale used for measuring wine.
via Virginia is making a name for itself as a wine destination, with hundreds of new vineyards – NY Daily News.
We were fortunate enough to meet with Marc Mandel of Crossroads Recycled Lumber which is a reclaimed lumber business located on part of the site. The primary source of wood is building deconstruction projects in California and other locations across the US. It was interesting to see the inventory of material and to see the amount of work that is needed to “reclaim” the wood. Nails are a big problem and need to be pulled out with hand tools. A metal detector is used to assist in this process as any residual metal would severely damage saw blades and other milling equipment.
Typically, lumber is processed to order and I now understand why it costs three times as much as regular lumber – it requires a lot of labor and the product is highly desirable. Markets for the reclaimed lumber are national and I was intrigued to hear that some has been used in the new Li Ka Shing Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences building at UC Berkeley. The Crossroads Recycled Lumber website has pictures and information for projects that lumber has been supplied to.
via Recycled Lumber at North Fork – Woody Biomass Utilization.
Reclamation Administration: News and Research on Building Material Waste Prevention