How old is reclaimed wood really?

Question

Accepted Answer

Depending on the range, between 30 and around 300 years. Sunburnt boards can be weathered enough by wind and sun after just 30 to 40 years. Original hand-hewn beams and boards necessarily date from the time before mechanical saws – which was the case until around 100 years ago, earlier or later depending on the region. Some beams carry inscriptions from the 18th century, such as 1780.
Range 30–300 years
Hand-hewn timber over 100 years
Oldest finds inscriptions around 1780
Origin Alpine region
How to tell the age: hand-hewn timber carries the marks of the axe – irregular facets instead of straight saw cuts. The round logs were shaped into a square form by hand and axe alone, before sawmills and frame saws existed. Sunburnt wood shows its age on the surface: the soft growth rings have been worn away by wind and weather, while the hard ones stand out as texture.
The age of the building is only the lower limit. Our timber comes from the Alpine region – from Austria, Bavaria and regions of the former monarchy – and the buildings are often several hundred years old. An 18th-century barn was often built from wood that had already stood in another building for decades: beams used to be reused, just as we do today.