Reclaimed Material Suits Custom Homes

Drive along any given U.S. highway and you'll see them in the distance: dilapidated barns leaning precariously toward collapse. There's gold in those barns! Ask Gary Norman. He'll fashion those forgotten barn planks into a truly one-of-a-kind custom home.

“We are currently building every one of our homes with reclaimed lumber” says Norman, founder and president of Bend, Ore.-based Gary Norman Homes.

“There's nothing like the character of 100-year-old wood,” he says, explaining that reclaimed wood is durable

Photography by Ross Chandler

The material's heritage is important to Norman; he painstakingly documents the source of all the wood he salvages. He also tries to keep the majority of wood from any building in one house rather than divide it between different homes so the owner knows where the wood originated.

In addition to the beauty, strength and unique heritage inherent in older wood, reclaimed wood makes a positive impact on the environment by conserving natural resources. Trees that might otherwise have been cut down for new construction are saved, and wood and other material that would otherwise be headed for the landfill or burned is given a new life.

Abandoned barns like this are carefully dismantled and prepared for new use for homes. Photography by Gary Norman Homes.

“We're very selective of the wood that we choose. There are many old buildings available that simply won't meet our criteria,” Norman says. “We're looking for the age, the luster. And the size of the timber is imperative.”

Wood and other material is salvaged from old buildings, barns, stockyards and grange halls from across the Pacific Northwest that are scheduled for demolition. “The owners of these structures are excited to see the wood being salvaged and reused instead of seeing it destroyed,” Norman says.

Because of the complexity involved in the process, the cost of reclaimed material is typically higher than new material. The reclaiming process also poses one of the most formidable challenges a custom builder might face should he or she decide to use salvaged material. Reclaiming involves multiple steps, including dismantling the structure, shipping and preparing the material for a new application.

Business is currently going strong for Gary Norman Homes. The high end of the market that it serves isn't really restricted by the current state of the mortgage market because in most cases, customers provide their own

This $2.4 million Brasada Ranch home features reclaimed Montana barn wood both outside (top) and inside (bottom). Photography by Dogleg Studios

The firm is building in three Central Oregon communities: the 1,800-acre Brasada Ranch residential community located between Bend and Redmond, Ore.; River Canyon Estates, which features lots with dramatic views overlooking the Deschutes River just outside of Bend; and a townhome project in the Northwest Crossing in Bend. The company also builds custom homes for clients and tackles remodeling projects. Spec homes range in price from $1.6 million to $2.8 million.

Their efforts have not gone unrewarded; the firm has won several awards. But the accolades are icing on the cake for Norman. His true passion and reward lies in knowing that he is conserving natural resources and preserving the legacy of century-old structures. “This is a real feel-good business. It's really nice to be part of the reclaim movement,” he says.

“When you walk into one of our homes, you feel the difference,” Norman says. “You feel the quality of the wood, you feel the ambiance, you feel the history of the wood, and it embraces you.”