Apples to apples, no. Recycled lumber is priced competitively with green lumber of the same species, grade and dimension. Where reclaimed timber prices diverge from green lumber is in high grade,large dimension. The fact is many of the larger dimension timbers from 6x12 on up, commonly used in construction 50 or 100 years ago simply do not exist in todays lumber market. Steel beams or reinforced concrete have taken their place.

While large dimension lumber can be had on a custom cut basis the process is problematic. A query of redwood mills up and down the California coast in 1995 for dry, 7 grain per inch clear heart 12x 12's yielded this response. "$5.00 a board ft. Green. Two year wait." Hence the larger dimension timbers either reclaimed or green carry their own intrinsic value above and beyond the market price of common dimension lumber.

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