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Reclaimed Victorian pine

than that derived from new-growth trees.
Moreover, the wood’s lengthy incarnation
in its pre-floor application (as a joist, beam or
rafter, for example, or even the stave of an
antique vodka barrel) will mean the wood has
been extensively seasoned, undergoing multiple
cycles of expansion and contraction due to
environmental changes. This process makes the
wood more stable and less prone to warping or
shrinking compared to newer timber.
In essence, the age of the wood gives it
a higher resistance to wear and tear, crucial
for flooring applications, in some cases being
as much as forty points higher on the Janka
hardness scale. This extraordinary durability
means, while all well-made, premium floors are
inherently resistant to re-entering the waste
stream, reclaimed wood floors are especially so.
The reclamation process
It is estimated that more than 50,000 buildings
are demolished every year in the UK alone.
Worldwide, the number is in the many millions.
When Ted Todd are alerted to a demolition
containing high-quality or unusual timber, their
experts set about assessing the viability of the
find. Reclaimed wood can come from just about
any building or structure.
Ted Todd have sourced wood from Victorian
textile mills, locomotive factories and hospitals,
Eastern European distilleries, 17th century barns,
far-flung colonial homes, and even the old War
Office in Whitehall, which would once have
echoed to the footsteps of Lord Kitchener and
Winston Churchill. Once verified, the logistics
work begins to transport the timber to the
Cheshire workshop. Ted Todd have rescued
wood from as far afield as Australia, Canada and
130 TED TODD the waste stream. Africa.
But where this is true for all superior wood
The process of turning reclaimed wood into
Reclaimed floors and the hierarchy of floors, reclaimed wood floors possess the a viable floor is a complex one that requires
waste management additional environmental benefit of preventing great skill, experience and a good deal of care
another resource from entering the waste and patience. Working almost exclusively by
IT’s fair to say recycling has become an stream. Additionally, unlike recycling, which hand, the wood is subject to a program of
unremarkable part of our lives. We don’t really involves energy-consuming mechanical and both innovative and time-honoured restorative
think about it. Blue, green, black, brown, grey, chemical processes, reuse requires minimal such techniques that breathe new life into the
even purple: we drop our litter and waste into activity. material.
the appropriately coloured bin with hardly a Reclaimed wood, by definition, leaves more
moment’s consideration, and for most people, a trees unfelled and, given the fact that a single Beyond recycling: a greener future with
trip to what used to be called ‘the tip’ and is now tree can produce enough oxygen for four reclaimed timber
commonly referred to as the Household Waste people every day, this can only be a good thing. Ultimately, reclaimed wood flooring transcends
Recycling Centre (HWRC) is a regular outing. Furthermore, the felling of trees requires the use mere recycling. It embodies waste prevention
Although recycling has been with us for of heavy machinery: harvesters, feller bunchers, and reuse, offering exceptional durability and
centuries (the ancient Romans melted down forwarders, skidders, log loaders, excavators, environmental benefits.
bronze coins to produce statues, and the mulchers and more. The reclamation process is By repurposing historical timber, Ted Todd not
Japanese were recycling paper as far back far less industrial in nature and scale. only create stunning floors but also contribute to
as 1031), it is only relatively recently, with the a more sustainable future, minimizing waste and
passing of the Household Waste Recycling Act Reclaimed wood: stronger and more durable preserving our planet’s resources.
2003, that such sustainable practices have Old-growth trees, from which Ted Todd’s
become ingrained here in the UK. reclaimed timber originates, will have grown for www.tedtodd.co.uk
a much longer period than
Lansink’s Ladder contemporary wood. This
When it comes to environmental conservation extended growth results in
efforts, recycling tends to be at the forefront denser, tighter grain patterns,
of most people’s minds. However, recycling is making the wood significantly
not at the pinnacle of the Hierarchy of Waste stronger and more durable
Management, sometimes referred to as
Lansink’s Ladder. That place is reserved
for ‘prevention’; stopping waste from being
created in the first place. Recycling doesn’t
even earn second place. That would be
‘reuse’.
This tier on the hierarchy focuses on
keeping material in circulation for as long
as possible, delaying its entry into the
waste stream or, better yet, preventing that
outcome entirely.
Reclaimed floors occupy both first and
second place on the Hierarchy of Waste
Management. As with all high-quality wood
floors, they are intended to last, becoming
part of the fabric of the building and
matching its lifespan. This markedly delays Reclaimed Georgian pine
the moment at which the wood will enter

CFA Guide to Sustainability 2025/26