Those Beautiful Old Growth, California Redwood Trees in the 1940's

There were lots of them back then....

I'm happy to have just saved a workbench made from those trees in a place where there is lots of 2nd growth.

John
 
My grandfather's house that he built, that was next door to another house that he built had a fence around it, that of course he built, which was made from older growth red wood. It was put in long before I was born and I remember him painstaking removing the posts that had finally started to rot out at the base and grafted in new redwood. Post by post because he didn't want to change them out as I remember him saying that "you can't get it like this anymore".
 
Years ago, a friend of mine bought a Victorian house in San Jose CA. Built in the 1800's, it was all redwood.
While I was being shown around, I saw a set of shelves in the basement: 3-4" thick, 10-12" wide and 20-25 feet long
all perfectly clear redwood. Amazing.
 
Friend grew up on a ranch out around Petaluma area. One of the original walls of the house was a solid piece of redwood, must have been thirty feet by seven or eight.

Impossible to find a piece of material like that, and it's probably going to get ripped out and chucked in the construction debris bin now that the property sold. Most contractors stick to building things out of ready-made components as it makes the job quicker.
 
I knew an old logger from Meyers Flat who said they used to spend a whole day with a D8 Cat building a bed to fell a Redwood in to prevent damage to it.
 
Friend grew up on a ranch out around Petaluma area. One of the original walls of the house was a solid piece of redwood, must have been thirty feet by seven or eight.

Impossible to find a piece of material like that, and it's probably going to get ripped out and chucked in the construction debris bin now that the property sold. Most contractors stick to building things out of ready-made components as it makes the job quicker.

Salvage old growth brings a premium. It will not end up in the bin, there's a fair chance it was one thing the new owner loved when the bought the property....
 
Before the advent of treated lumber redwood was considered a premium building product. Not only was it light, it was also about the most rot resistant material available. In the 1950's and 60's almost every lawn and garden store was selling redwood outdoor furniture and framing for outdoor structures like screen porches and patio roofs were commonly done with redwood. The original deck at our family cottage was redwood because of it's superior ability to withstand the elements.

Alas our deck and the majority of the redwood furniture are long gone. I was however able to salvage enough to make several more pieces of furniture in the future. At this point however it's all still in storage. Having redwood furniture in this area is much like wearing animal fur coats. I never was a fan of fur coats, but I don't like being lumped into the same category for "repurposing" already finished lumber. Just by having it somehow you're seen as a threat to the environment.
 
Redwood is still available as a building material out here, it's expensive but available lots of places.

Trees still need to be cleared for fire prevention and new construction, and there are second growth forests which are managed "sustainably". Very few of the giants still exist but I am lucky to be able to hike among them just a short distance from our house.

In Michigan I use cedar for outdoor construction and it's almost as good.

Now that we live in a world where conservation has been embraced by many people and governments it'll only be another 500 years for those trees to get just as big :eagerness:

Cheers,

John
 
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