Just wrapped up the demo on this fun little barn outside of Falls City. It had been used as a smoker at some point so the lumber has a super unique patina. Some of it almost has a purple-ish hue to it. We only salvaged around a thousand board feet, but its really pretty stuff!

Old Farmhouse

Currently dismantling this stoic old farmhouse outside of Stayton. The family dreamed of restoration but as the years passed salvage came to be the better option. The house had long been abandoned and was missing just about every door and window. A large hole near the chimney had been letting water in and vandals had left a mark or two here and there. A fallen tree had taken down a shed adjacent to the house but left a bit of weathered gray wood left standing to salvage. A small garage on the property had also seen the end of it's days as a useable structure and came down, but a lovely old horse/pig barn ( depending on who you ask) will remain standing as it's got lots of life left to it.
Expecting to salvage 1x12, 4.75" circle sawn lap wall cladding, 6" weathered gray lap, 2x6, 2x8 and possibly some floor material. The small garage had good siding and framing and a bit of useable skip sheathing. Love that people see the beauty in this old wood and that we're able to save the pieces and find a new life for them!

This beautiful old barn is located in Rickreall. The lumber has such beautiful patina. Love that cupola on top too! This barn has mortise and tenon construction and large grain bins in the loft. Hoping that the skip sheathing is salvageable- its a 6" rather than the usual 4". It looks as though the loft flooring was repurposed barn board siding, it is weathered gray on the underside, so this may be its third chance at a new life!

Our latest project is this tiny little garage just outside of Monmouth. The owner guesses that it was built in the 1930s. The south facing wall blew off years ago leaving most of the building exposed to the elements, so there isn't a lot to salvage here, but I'm in love with the green ship lap siding and the little four pane windows. The ship lap is such a perfect candidate for building a sliding barn door! The corrugated metal coming off this building has great patina as well. The skip sheathing has great character and would make for a very cool wall covering.

     

Late in the fall of last year we received a call to come look at this towering old barn as a potential salvage job. An oak tree had fallen and destroyed a portion of its west side. One look at this gem and we determined that the barn was far too beautiful and beloved to be taken down, even though the materials would be salvaged and repurposed. This barn has been owned by the current owner's family since it was built at the turn of the last century. Despite the damage from the oak tree, the majority of the barn maintained its structural integrity allowing us to remove the damaged portion and repair the barn using materials salvaged from the barn. All materials not being used for the rebuild will be salvaged and repurposed.
Photos of the rebuild coming soon!

Corvallis Machine Shed

Starting demo on this old machine shed located on a century farm in Corvallis. The siding has a lovely patina and it is framed with beautiful rough sawn dimensional 2x8. The building has nice 1x4 skip sheathing which should be salvageable. The metal roofing doesn't have much of a rusty patina but it is a unique profile that we don't come across too often. There are even some old glass insulators and rusty milk jugs inside. The barn is cabled together and on its last leg, glad to have found it before it falls.

Muir and McDonald Tannery

In May 2014 Salem Salvage dismantled the historic Muir and McDonald Tannery located in Dallas Oregon.

Muir & McDonald Co.   was founded in 1863 and the most recent 40,000 square foot building which we dismantled had been rebuilt in 1903 after a fire. Before it closed the doors in 2006, this was the longest continually run business in Polk County and the only tannery in the West still using the natural and non toxic vegetable tanning process.
We are very excited for the opportunity to help preserve and repurpose such an important piece of local history. Much of the wood from this project has a very unique and beautiful patina from the tanning process that took place in the building. The wood is also incredibly well preserved and in excellent useable condition. In addition to the lumber there is also some original machinery from the operation, wooden wheels, hides, photographs, a roll top desk and many other neat items that we were able to salvage. We even saved the original sign. 

 

Lumber from this project has been used for flooring, gazebos, fire place mantels, custom furniture and many other unique applications. We still have a good selection of lumber from the tannery available.

 The tannery was featured on Modern Marvels, watch the video below.