Urban Tree Salvage

Holy smoke… I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I first walked through the doors.
Having a few renovation projects to do around the house, I scoured the internet for: 1) Live Edge Slabs; and 2) reclaimed barn wood; and I kept being drawn back to their website. Having read all about the challenges when using these two mediums… I thought I was ready to take the plunge and at least look at some wood.
The Live Edge Slab was going to be for the top of my fireplace… a three sided monster that many homes built since the 90’s have. The barn wood was going to be used for a DIY project of mine — making a headboard for a newly purchased mattress… sort of shabby chic style.
The store itself wasn’t that difficult to find (thank god for a GPS) and it is very deceiving from the outside. The store is very long, with pre constructed items in the front, and raw product at the back. Besides barn wood and live edge slabs, they also carry barn beams and other wood related items. Some of the already constructed items were expensive (although 1 of a kind), but as I was going to be doing the work myself, I headed to the back to peruse their wares.
Their selection of barn wood was adequate, not stellar, but I was told by the salesman that everything is based on supply… and that they get barn wood in-​stock frequently during the month. I left feeling defeated at: 1) the hope of finding a piece of live slab big enough for what I wanted to do with it; and 2) the inventory of barn wood was not great and who knew how long it would take to get a decent inventory level.
However, a few weeks later I returned and boom… they had tons of reclaimed barn wood in stock. I was like a kid in a candy store… measuring boards, looking through stock, selecting then deciding on another piece, etc. Barn wood really is unique as one board possesses two colours…1) Grey — which was on the outside of a barn exposed to the elements; and 2) Brown — the colour of the wood on the interior of the barn. So, you can use either side of the board for your project. Some external pieces even have old paint on them (if a farmer was so inclined to paint his barn)…some even have shades of green which could be from moss or lichen.
Anyways, I selected enough barn wood to build a King Headboard. Price was reasonable… approx. $ 390 for lots of reclaimed wood.
I cannot wait to start the project.
Oh…and live slab is what they call a piece of wood that has the bark still on it, or just removed… but unmanufactured (eg –its not 2×4 or 4×4 wood). It is wood in its natural state (think of cutting a tree down and then chain sawing through the trunk, either horizontally or vertically).
Great store, staff was über friendly and knowledgeable, barn wood was very reasonably priced and already kiln dried.
Love this place !

I am a creeper. I stalked Urban Tree Salvage online for almost 2 years before I got up the nerve (and budget) to introduce myself to them.
UTS sells furniture and slabs. Sometimes they sell sanded slabs but usually they are rough sawn and kiln dried (which means you have a lot of sanding ahead of you). The slabs are really reasonably priced. I have often agonized about purchasing one (I live in an apartment and I assume my landlord would be dissatisfied if I hauled a thickness sander into my basement).
Their wood all comes from salvaged trees in the GTA. It’s different than reclaimed wood because it has never been anything before except a tree. The trees are cut down for different reasons — clearing, sickness, whatever. UTS dries them and mills them into slabs. Then you can buy a big piece of wood or you can buy furniture.
The good:
— Their furniture is gorgeous and they will make whatever you want.
— They’re delightful to deal with and you can see them by appointment if you have a lot to talk about.
The bad:
— custom orders can take a long time. I ordered a desk in April and got it in August.
— I don’t want to say it’s expensive because it’s really not in the grand scheme of the life of the piece. But prepare yourself to drop serious coin on furniture that they make. And… yes… just be prepared for sticker shock. And then think about how much your grandchildren will love the piece you just bought in 50 years when there is only plantation wood available to them for ‘real’ furniture.
Would I shop here again?
Yes. Once ever 3 or 4 years I think I can afford to shop here again. And I will continue to creep their website monthly & occasionally drive out there and drool over slabs.