This was a first for us! The wood for this pine table came straight from the floors of this recently remodeled and historic home in Boston’s North End. When the client had the demolition done on the interior space, opening up floors and ceilings to move staircases, they had the foresight to set aside some beautiful old pine boards for a table top. We did a classic trestle and skirt design, something we rarely do, but the client wanted the boxiness of that top to give the impression of a thicker, more robust dining table. One nice thing about pine is that it is lighter to carry if you move your dining table around.
The wood was de-nailed and scraped clean of its dirty and rough outer layer. To the client’s liking, old saw and scrape marks were left on the table top so it is rougher to the touch in some places. You can even find old Roman numeral markings that the lumber companies used to count their stacks.
One thing to keep in mind about pine- it is a very light and soft wood. If you're writing too hard with a pen on a pine table top without using a placemat, you may be able to read what you wrote. We encourage people to make dining tables from reclaimed oak, and to consider reclaimed pine for other types of furniture, like bookcases and headboard. Most typically when we are approached about using pine for a dining table, it is because that pine itself has sentimental value to the client, or comes straight out of their remodel project,
Here is another piece made from reclaimed pine- this one a small bookcase made from old floorboards with are typically half the thickness of framing lumber.
https://www.cannonhillwood.com/photo/reclaimed-pine-bookcase
Table Height: 29 inches
Table Width: 40 inches
Table Length: 66 inches (5.5 feet), Seats 6-8
Table Length with Table Extenders: 96 inches (8 feet), Seats 10