What's In The Yard? - Quarterly Stock Update (August 2024)
August 2024
Welcome to our quarterly stock update, ‘What’s In The Yard?’.
To help you to keep across our current timber availability, we’ve taken stock of some of the unusual and interesting timbers that are currently on site and ready to go.
Every week new stock comes into our yard from our demolition partners. It might be salvaged from the demolition of a Canberra house, or it could be from a landmark building, a wharf or an old Sydney factory or warehouse. These jobs can be big, with huge quantities of timber, or small with just a few packs arriving. Over time, our stock builds up in certain species or sizes—giving the chance for us to supply larger quantities quickly—and the chance for you to get creative with this resource!
What are you interested in? Click on the links below to jump to the timber you’re after:
WHAT’S NEW?
THOR’S PICKS
We’ve had some great timber arrive at the workshop recently including some large sections and long lengths of blackbutt and tallowwood from the upgrade of the historic Baker’s Creek Bridge in Armidale - find out more below under Posts & Beams
We’ve been pulling up some good floors too - unusually wide blackbutt flooring salvaged from a harbourside mansion in Clontarf NSW and some great narrow tallowwood flooring from the Holy Spirit Catholic College in Lakemba.
Our recycling manager Matt has prepared samples of wire brushed and oiled battens from the demolition of a shearing shed. We’ve also got several packs of dense hardwood 150 x 50 boards salvaged from some stockyards in Young which would make for some excellent outdoor boardwalks for a spring garden project.
Read on to check out all this timber up for grabs.
Posts & BEAMS
Up until the 1950s, hardwood timbers were the main material used in Australia to build bridges, wharves and industrial buildings because of their amazing durability and strength.
SQUARE POSTS & SLEEPERS
About: Various dimensions and species, refer stock talley below.
Demolition: Various sources
Quantity: Refer stock tally below
BAKER’S CREEK BRIDGE TIMBERS
About: Blackbutt and tallowwood in long lengths and well seasoned over nearly a century.
Demolition: Baker’s Creek Bridge, Armidale
Dimensions & quantity: We have approximately 300 lineal metres of lengths up to 5.3m in 250 x 100mm & 200 x 100mm.
Great for: Outdoor posts and beams and more. (Please note that this timber is best suited to having a wire brushed finish rather than dressed)
Email hammer@thors.com.au or phone (02) 6282 9900 to enquire about this historic timber.
ROUND WHARF PIERS & BRIDGE GIRDERS
About: Various dimensions and species, refer stock talley below.
Demolition: Wharf and bridge demolitions
Quantity: Refer stock tally below
ROUND STOCKYARD POLES
About: Round poles of various dimensions with unique cutouts from their former life
Demolition: Stockyard sheds.
Quantity: Refer stock tally below
Post & Beam Inspiration Projects
Learn more about recycled timber posts & beams, and other uses on our website or call (02) 6282 9900 or email hammer@thors.com.au to speak to a designer.
Salvaged Flooring
Salvaged flooring is pulled up directly from an old building, and carries with it a history and unique story. You can choose to keep the patina, or you can sand it back to reveal the colour and grain of the timber. Boards are de-nailed, docked and cleaned in our workshop to make it less work to lay on site.
Below are some key current stocks in larger quantities
(Drop in or give us a call on (02) 6282 9900 for our full current range).
Smaller quantities of salvaged flooring often sell out before they even arrive in our yard, so if you are after a particular species or size, get in touch to get onto our Flooring Wanted list.
Narrow Tallowwood Salvaged Flooring
About: Narrow boards are extra stable, and create a tight floor with minimal movement. The floor has seen the tread of countless feet and has a great patina.
Demolition: Holy Spirit Catholic College
Quantity: Approx.153 sqm
‘Mystery Floor’ Mountain Ash
About: Particularly high quality mountain ash.
Demolition: Local Heritage Building
Quantity: Less than 400 sqm remaining - 82 x 20 (176 sqm) 82 x 18 (212 sqm) Approx.
Unusually Wide Blackbutt Salvaged Flooring
About: Salvaged from a large harbourside mansion in Clontarf NSW these beautiful wider boards are a rare find.
Demolition: Harbourside mansion, Clontarf, NSW
Quantity: Approx.100 sqm
Rock Maple Gym Flooring
About: Gym flooring with unique markings
Demolition: Chevalier College, Bowral
Quantity: Approx.112 sqm
Kauri Pine from pre-1930’s house demolitions
About: Quality historic kauri pine
Demolition: Pre 1930’s built house demolitions
Quantity: 167 sqm (150 x 28)
Brushbox flooring salvaged from Llewellyn Hall, ANU
About: High quality brushbox flooring
Demolition: Llewellyn Hall, ANU
Quantity: 83 sqm (50 x 24), 40 sqm (60 x 24))
Learn more here (Llewellyn Hall Flooring)
Salvaged Flooring Inspiration Projects
To see more of our range of salvaged flooring we have in stock from various sources and to see examples of projects that have re-used our salvage flooring click here. Call (02) 6282 9900 or email hammer@thors.com.au to speak to a designer
Demolition Timber
Here we’re looking primarily at roofing and framing timbers salvaged from demolition; be it joists and bearers, wall framing, roof timbers and purlins. We de-nail, identify, sort and stack these timbers for reuse and can sell either ‘as is’ or re-sawn and re-milled into new boards for flooring, cladding, decking or give new life in any number of other recycled timber products and designs.
PORT KEMBLA TIMBER
About: Blackbutt/dense browns, spotted gum and oregon, in long lengths and well seasoned over nearly a century.
Demolition: A massive 1920s industrial shed with a long and varied history.
Dimensions & quantity: We still have approximately 200 lineal metres of Port Kembla timber left in lengths from 4-5.5m in 250 x 75mm & 225 x 75mm.
Great for: Exposed feature beams, custom tables, benchtops and more.
BRUSHBOX
About: We currently have some stock of salvaged brushbox.
Demolition: Sydney House Roofs
Dimensions: Primarily 100 x 50 Roof timbers
Great for: Re-milled floorboards & interior linings, custom furniture and joinery.
BLUEGUM / COASTAL REDS
About: We currently have a particularly good stock of salvaged bluegum/coastal reds.
Demolition: Sydney House Roofs
Dimensions: Primarily 100 x 50 & 100 x 38mm roof timbers
Great for: Re-milled floorboards & interior linings, custom furniture and joinery.
& MORE
Learn more about our recycled timber on our website.
Call (02) 6282 9900 or email hammer@thors.com.au to speak to a designer
Recycled Timber Inspiration Projects
Here are some examples of recycled timber projects, including exposed feature beams in our Mildura St Showroom (these are blackbutt), furniture examples showing the beauty and opportunities of bluegum/coastal reds for custom furniture design (take a look at this Thor’s Journal article from late last year for some inspiration!), and lastly a recently completed table showcasing the elegance and unique colourings of recycled brushbox.
TIMBER BATTENS & SCREENING
We currently have a great supply of 75 x 50mm salvaged battens reclaimed from the demolition of garages and sheds. These battens could be sold ‘as is’ or dressed down into smaller profiles or dimensions. Great for internal dressed batten feature acoustic walls or similar.
Many of these battens would also be ideal to be given a new life as unique outdoor batten features, gates, fences or window shade screens. Sorted by species we have packs of brushbox, coastal reds, dense browns, spotted gum, dense reds and local ash. Feel free to come in for a look!
TIMBER BATTENS
About: Species including brushbox, coastal reds, dense browns, spotted gum, dense reds and local ash.
Demolition: Sheds & garages.
Dimensions: Primarily 75 x 50 and some 75 x 75. Varying lengths from 800 up to 2400mm.
Great for: Outdoor screens, feature batten walls.
STOCKYARD BATTENS
About: Our recycling manager Matt has wire brushed samples of the rustic battens from the Young stockyards. We have an estimated 5,000 LM plus mostly in spotted gum and other dense browns.
Demolition: Young stockyards.
Dimensions & Lengths: Approx 45 x 35mm. Worn to a rounded shape by the cattle rubbing against them.
Lengths are mostly around 2.7 - 3 metres with some shorter lengths.
Great for: Upon request these could be de-nailed and wire brushed and would be ideal for an outdoor cladding project or screen.
Timber Batten Inspiration Projects
Photos include: Canberra house designed by Ben Walker Architects as a great example of external batten screening-Learn more. Recycled timber battens for use in the foyer of the National Convention Centre-Learn more, and a great example of the use of recycled local ash battens in Mawson House by Michael Mckeon Architects-Learn more.
Feel free to call or come in for a look, call (02) 6282 9900 or email hammer@thors.com.au to speak to a designer
Boardwalk & Landscape Timbers
Every now and then we get some timbers that are hard to find a home for. These beautiful hardwood boards came from the Young cattleyards. At some point in its history the yards were re-built, and rather than removing nails the builders just put the joists back up-side down.
The result is that when they finally made their way to Thor's hammer there were so many nails in each joist that we couldn't economically de-nail them. Always keen to make sure good timbers are saved from landfill, our recycling manager, Matt, suggested using them as boardwalk or decking boards. We've cut the protruding nails off with an angle grinder and wire brushed them to remove dust and dirt and smooth the surface. The beautiful spotted gum came up really well!
For some boardwalk inspiration check out this recycled timber boardwalk in Forrest by landscape designer Lachlan Richardson from a few years back. https://www.thors.com.au/projects/garden-boardwalk-forrest
NATURAL EDGE SLABS
We currently have a particularly good selection of timber slabs including from some large Canberra street trees (elm), some remaining Queensland maple (salvaged from fallen trees after Cyclone Larry hit QLD in 2006) & some beautiful Casuarina from Lake Ginninderra, each with their own shape, character, texture and form we have slabs to suit any number of unique project possibilities.
Learn more about our slab’s and one-off timbers here or feel free to call or come in for a look during business hours Mon-Fri 8am-4:30pm and Sat 10am-2pm
Natural edge slabs currently available - come in for a look!