REGINA BEACH, Sask. – Lincoln Dobson sees beauty and opportunity in the
greying icons of the prairie grain trade.
He breathes new life into the dented, nail-riddled timbers with his
company, Last Mountain Timber Wrighting and Recycling of Regina Beach,
Sask.
“It’s not surprising, but it’s very satisfying,” said the 32 year old
of his timber framing and wood salvaging company.
“Only a few have a glimpse of what’s underneath the greyness.”
He saw first-hand how materials like maple floors and window frames
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were thrown away while helping out in his father’s demolition company.
Dobson has found a new use for old wood from demolished elevators and
other buildings. He sells it to builders like Ted Hall of Spearhead
Timberworks in Nelson, B.C., for use in houses, doors, flooring and
furniture. Some of this refurbished wood has found its way into stylish
homes in resort communities like Whistler, B.C., Aspen, Colorado, and
Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
“It’s got its own inherent character,” said Hall. “Some people don’t
like to see old nails, scars from its past life. We found most
appreciate the story it tells.”
The use of old wood is more work and increases his labour costs by up
to 20 percent, so most ends up in a high-end marketplace.
Hall is especially taken by the designs formed by years of grain
pouring down the elevator’s wooden chutes. This wood is transformed
into richly patterned doors, Hall said.
Esthetics are part of the old wood’s appeal, but so are its strength
and durability, said Dobson. Moisture content hovers around 20 percent
in new wood, as opposed to nine in the older pieces.
That means less twisting and splitting, common with wood as it dries.
Dobson’s three-year-old business had humble beginnings. His first
office was a bus now used for storage in the lumber yard.
Today, an orange portable band sawmill, tiny office and an assortment
of outbuildings sit on land once farmed by his great-grandfather and
leased to him by his mother.
This spring he hopes to erect a more permanent shop space for him and
his three full-time workers that will show off timber frame
construction and sustainable building practices that incorporate straw
bales and water boiler heating systems.
Given his passion for environmentally friendly practices, Dobson
conceded the commute from the home he shares with his partner and their
children in Regina is “a contradictory part of his existence.”
A timber-framed home for his family is a dream as Dobson focuses on a
more immediate concern to build up wood inventories from elevators.
Most will come down in the next few years and there is increasing
competition for a diminishing supply.
Twenty-five elevators would provide enough wood for 12 house projects,
said Dobson. The company, which has been preparing wood for other
builders and doing millwork, is ready to build its first complete
timber-frame home package this spring.
“It’s only 25 percent more for a timber-framed house but you’re getting
two to three times the house in longevity and beauty,” he said. “It’s
beautiful on many levels.”
Dobson is passionate about this type of construction that he says
“resonates like power” for its occupants. He effuses over efficient
joints, streamlined joinery and “the way everything is activated
together.”
He was drawn to learn how to use wood more efficiently, as this type of
construction is both stronger and uses less wood.
“You harness the wood’s strength.”
New wood is easier to work with and cheaper, but he thinks old timbers
are worth the extra effort. While most farmyards have rock piles,
Dobson’s site has nail piles created from pulling endless numbers of
them from the wood salvaged from old buildings like elevators, a
racquetball court and a loading dock.
Even so, the occasional missed nail, dirt or difficult-to-peel wood
cause numerous blade changes for the band saw operated by his brother
Caine this winter day. The company custom cuts the lumber for home
packages sent as far away as Quebec and Minnesota.
Recycled wood can command a 50 percent premium over new wood in some
markets, said Dobson, whose past jobs have included planting as many as
750,000 trees, log peeling and timber framing in British Columbia. He
returns there periodically to do timber framing jobs to generate cash
flow and “to keep his tools sharp and dust free.”
In Dobson’s future, there are houses to construct, millwork to complete
and one day perhaps, furniture to build, but not a major expansion.
“You can get bigger and bigger or you can produce a quality product,”
he said. “I like to use my tools. That’s why I got into it.”
