K&B 360: The Kitchen Diaries, continued

Gary the floor guy called with a hot tip for us: An old home down the Jersey shore was going to be razed, and would we be interested in going to take a look at the wood in the house? The property owner was holding a pre-demolition "open house", where building parts and materials would be available for salvage.

John grabbed some saws, claws and gloves and headed out with Gary. Late that night, he returned with a couple dozen oak stair treads and a few 6x10 timbers—all cut and pulled from the house by hand, as there was no power to the building anymore. Much of that ancient, beautifully grained and rock-hard lumber was refinished and recycled into our hot cab; the in-progress photo above was taken at the cabinetmaker's shop.

Leslie Clagett
Editor, Kitchens & Baths