Pitch Pine for London – sourcing the timber
Kiltra Timber were selected to supply the Reclaimed Pitch Pine flooring for two Georgian town houses in Soho, London.
The architects on this project, Ian McArdle & Associates liaised with London Heritage who stipulated that reclaimed Pitch Pine was to be the timber of choice for the building.
This reflects what would have been available during the original construction but also the location and prestige of these town houses where the best timber would have been selected.
And so it is again due to their location on Broadwick St in the centre of London this Pitch Pine had to be the highest grade and meet exacting standards.
This flooring was reclaimed from beams that came from the docklands in Liverpool where buildings are undergoing upgrades as part of a major regeneration program for the area.
Most of these buildings were built during the industrial revolution, such as Caines brewery founded in 1858 by Irishman Robert Cain. This grade II listed building was not torn down but with the guidance of English Heritage it is part of a major redevelopment plan. More details can be found at www.breweryvillage.com
All the Pitch Pine beams salvaged from Caines brewery were sourced by Kiltra Timber who work closely with the demolition and salvage companies to ensure that these valuable Pitch Pine beams can be saved and re-purposed. These huge structural beams originated in America from trees that are now referred to as the virgin forests, which refers to the fact that they were growing when the first settlers arrived.
These were felled with basic equipment and the massive logs were moved primarily by the river network to the ports.
Why is this timber so prized?
It is due to the very high resin content in the heartwood that makes the timber naturally rot resistance and very strong.
Take a moment to think that this timber could have been growing in the 1600’s in America, felled and used in buildings in the 1800’s and then salvaged and re-milled today to hopefully still be in use in the floors of a Georgian townhouse in Soho for another 200 years.