When Mireille and Darian purchased their 1920s bungalow on Hyperion Avenue, the original floors were beyond saving — decades of water damage and poorly applied vinyl had taken their toll. But the couple had a vision: replace them with reclaimed oak that matched the home's era.
They came to us looking for wide-plank white oak, ideally from a structure built around the same period. As luck would have it, we had just salvaged a massive load of white oak joists from a warehouse demolition in the Arts District — the building dated to 1918.
Our milling team, led by Kwame, resawed the 8x10 joists into 3/4-inch planks averaging 8 inches wide. The tight, even grain of the old-growth oak was immediately apparent — something you simply cannot find in modern lumber.
After kiln-drying to 7% moisture content and light sanding, the planks revealed extraordinary figure and color variation, from pale honey to deep amber. The occasional nail hole and surface check added character that the homeowners loved.
Installation took five days. The finished floor is a seamless bridge between the home's original Craftsman bones and its modern renovation. Mireille told us it's the single detail that gets the most compliments from visitors.
This project used approximately 1,400 board feet of reclaimed oak — lumber that would have otherwise gone to a landfill. Instead, it has a new life in a home that will cherish it for another century.