About TerraMai:

How long have you been doing this? We started our company over 15 years ago and helped pioneer the reclaimed wood industry. We have the experience and knowledge to help you most effectively use reclaimed wood. We will be around for many years to come.

Where are you located? We are located in the picturesque town of McCloud, California. McCloud is on the Southeast edge of Mount Shasta which, at 14,162 feet, is one of the tallest mountains in the United States. McCloud is nine miles east of Interstate 5 and four hours north of San Francisco. We ship throughout the United States and pass our significant shipping discounts directly on to our customers.

Where do you do your manufacturing? We have a manufacturing facility in McCloud, California where we mill our domestic products. We have our own staff that set up and supervise our overseas manufacturing where we manufacture as close to the wood source as possible, employing local people and minimizing fuel waste in shipping.

What is your area of specialization? We specialize in reclaimed tropical hardwoods, California redwood, and Douglas fir. From these woods we produce flooring, decking, siding, paneling, beams and timbers and furniture and cabinet stock.

About Reclaimed Wood:

What is reclaimed wood? Reclaimed wood is wood from used sources such as industrial buildings no longer in use or old houses made of teak. It can also be orchard salvage or river recovered wood. TerraMai re-mills this wood into new products such as, flooring timbers and decking.

Do you sell new wood too? TerraMai has always used reclaimed and salvaged wood as the only source for all its products. We don’t faux distress new wood to make it look old. We came into this industry with the same environmental commitment we have today; to reuse wood and promote the idea of wood as a high value, reusable resource. For example, instead of burning or landscaping with hardwood railway ties (which is what happens to them in Asia) we make them into floors that will last a hundred years.

Is there a difference in quality between new and reclaimed wood? As the availability of larger trees (the source for high quality new wood) diminishes, the contrast in quality between new and reclaimed increases. Reclaimed wood usually comes from a time when only large trees were harvested, so it is often of a higher quality.

Where does your wood come from? We source worldwide. Our wood comes from Douglas fir industrial buildings in Seattle, old teak houses from Southeast Asia, redwood wine tanks from California and rosewood antique railway sleepers from Asia. We also buy tropical orchard salvage from orchards that have outlived their productive lifespan, such as Hevea/rubberwood. We try to source wherever people don’t yet appreciate the value of reclaimed wood and are still focused on the local new wood economy. One of our main goals is education - helping all people appreciate the functionality, the history and beauty of reclaimed wood.

Do you tear down people’s homes in developing countries just to get the wood? We place an emphasis on historical and social integrity. We never demolish historic landmarks or put people out of their homes to get wood. For example, in Asia people are looking for cooler concrete houses they can efficiently air condition, so they are actively demolishing traditional pole houses. We act carefully to ensure that our purchasing policies don’t encourage needless demolition.

How can I be certain that my wood is truly reclaimed? We have always maintained that nail holes and character marks speak for themselves. TerraMai is a pioneer in the reclaimed wood industry. Our environmental values are at the core of our business. If there is still doubt, we can easily provide chain of custody information and photos of specific sources.

How do you determine if the wood you reclaim is free of chemicals and such? We buy our raw milling stock ourselves, from known sources so that we have a clear understanding of the wood’s use in its previous life. We never buy wood that is tainted with petroleum products, coated in lead paint or otherwise chemically treated. Some of our tropical woods have their own, fragrant natural oils. We also offer woods that have been used as wine vats, whisky barrels, water tanks and olive containers. Of course none of these woods pose any hazard to the end user. If there is any question about the safety of a particular wood or source we send it to a wood testing facility for scientific testing.

Products and Pricing:

How do your prices compare to products milled from new wood? When comparing apples to apples, TerraMai’s products are very competitive. For example, we are priced similarly to other high-end solid tropical flooring or dry redwood timbers. If you are looking for second growth oak flooring, second growth redwood or two-by-fours, someone else can better serve your needs. However, if you are looking for fine and unique woods, we feel we are very competitive.

What other products do you have in addition to flooring? We produce a variety of products from domestic and exotic species including flooring, decking, lumber, timbers and beams. We have many stock items and an eight acre yard of raw inventory to produce special or custom products.

How hard are your woods? We use the internationally accepted Janka Hardness Rating scale to measure the density and durability of our woods. These rating numbers are listed on our website at www.terramai.com. Our product line includes some of the hardest woods in the world.

I note that you have many offerings of unfinished flooring. Do you also offer pre-finished flooring? Yes, we offer our teak flooring both unfinished and pre-finished. We also offer many of our floors pre-finished on a custom basis for orders over 5000 square feet. A few of our lines come only in unfinished, which most high-end installers and designers as well as customers prefer. Finish-in-place (unfinished) floors allow more flexibility with finishes and do not require a micro bevel.

Do you make laminates or particleboard? All of our products are solid wood. We don’t use laminates or particle board. This is real wood. Just like the good old days, but better.

Do you stock any unique or rare woods? We like to think of all our products as unique. Indeed some of our premium redwoods, Asian rosewood and teak are quite rare today.

What is the moisture content of your flooring products? Most of our flooring is between 6% and 9% depending on the specific product. We kiln dry our flooring and follow North American Flooring Manufacturers Association (NOFMA) guidelines when dealing with moisture in our woods. Our air dried woods range from 6% to 18% depending on the weather and where the wood originates from.

How do you store your wood? Our woods are stored differently depending on their form and moisture content. We store our kiln and air dried flooring and finish lumber in our 25,000 square foot warehouse. Our as-is timbers and beams are stored under cover in our yard. The dry alpine climate at our McCloud facility makes for perfect wood storage conditions.

How do you grade it? We are members of the West Coast Lumber Inspection Bureau and are licensed to grade structural lumber according to WCLIB rules. For some of our products we use “house” grading specifications to give customers a more visual grading specification.

Isn’t there a lot of visual variation in a mixed species floor? No more than in other tropical hardwood same species floors. Sometimes even less. Actually Brazilian cherry can look a lot like our Jungle Mix. We choose the species we put in our mixes so that they have similar density, coloration and durability, giving you a very high-performing floor.

Can you mill the wood to my specifications and dimensions? Yes, we operate our own mill and work with a network of outside millworks which enable us to provide virtually any standard or custom product in reclaimed wood. We are committed to providing you with what you need for your project.

Can I purchase wood from TerraMai online? Yes, some of our products are available online, while other, custom products require specialized service. You can visit e-store at www.terramai.com.

Can I purchase my wood and have TerraMai store it? Yes, TerraMai can warehouse your order for a nominal monthly storage fee.

Can you provide me with a current inventory list and pricing? Due to the nature of the reclaimed lumber industry, some products and prices are subject to availability. We do have standardized price structures for all of our flooring products and a few siding products. Please visit our website (www.terramai.com) or give our sales office a call for current information on the latest interesting inventories.

Do you charge sales tax? Any deliveries within the state of California are subject to sales tax, unless the buyer has a valid California re-sellers license. We are also required to charge sales tax when anyone from out of state personally picks up their products from our California facility. Out of state deliveries are exempt from California sales tax. The buyer is responsible for complying with any state sales tax laws or sales tax due to their own state tax board.

Do you provide shipping cost quotes? Yes. We are happy to quote shipping as a courtesy for our customers. We can often get great rates and special assistance for you, because we are a bulk shipper.

How long does it take to get my order? Depending on the product, it could ship as early as tomorrow (TerraMai flooring) or it could take up to 12 weeks to produce a large custom order (milled Teak timbers).

Installation and Acclimation:

How long should a TerraMai floor acclimate? All solid hardwoods should be well acclimated prior to installation. In general, we recommend being conservative and acclimating for 3-4 weeks in the same climate controlled environment where the floor will be installed. Your installer should give you the final guidelines, based on your location and building.

Can your floors be used in the dry areas of the Southwest? Yes. With conservative acclimatization and only in a house that will be continually climate controlled. All wood will be damaged by drastic extremes in temperature. This can happen in desert second homes where the HVAC is turned off when people go away for long periods of time.

How do you install a reclaimed floor? Just like a regular, solid wood floor. We are members of the National Wood Flooring Association. Here is a list of installers from the NWFA at www.nwfa.org.

Can I glue down my floor? Yes. Solid hardwood can be glued down under some circumstances. It is best to have a licensed installer evaluate your situation and make recommendations regarding the best installation method for your project.

Can I install my floor over a concrete slab? Yes. There are several systems approved by the National Wood Flooring Association that allow solid wood to be installed over a slab. We recommend the Sika System, which allows for a glue-down installation over concrete. More information can be found on their website at www.sikaconstruction.com. It is best to have a licensed installer evaluate your situation and make recommendations regarding the best installation method for your project.

If I choose to glue down my flooring, what type of glue should I use? We suggest using SikaBond-T55 when gluing wood floors. SikaBond-T55 is a trowel grade Polyurethane Elastic adhesive for wood floors. More information can be found on their website at www.sikaconstruction.com.

What type of finish do you use on your samples? We use a satin finish, water modified poly-urethane product called Street Shoe, by Basic Products. This is a commercial grade finish with great durability. More information can be found on Basic Product’s website at www.basiccoatings.com.

Does TerraMai recommend staining its flooring? At TerraMai we love the look of natural wood. However, we understand that our clients sometimes require a stained finish to coordinate the visual aspects of a project. Our sales team can recommend natural stains that will enhance rather than mask the beauty of the wood.

Organizational References:

What is SmartWood? SmartWood was the world’s first independent forestry certifier. Established in 1989, they pioneered the concept of forest and forest-products certification, which has since taken hold around the world. SmartWood is accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which it helped to establish in 1993.

What is FSC certification? The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international organization that accredits third-party certifiers such as SmartWood. Forest management operations that meet the FSC principles and criteria for environmental, economic, and social standards are awarded the certification seal. Operations that purchase and sell FSC-certified products can achieve certification when they meet Chain-of-Custody standards.

What is LEED? The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System® is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. LEED provides a complete framework for assessing building performance and meeting sustainability goals. Based on well-founded scientific standards, LEED emphasizes state of the art strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

Do your products qualify a project for LEED points? Yes. They even get you extra points if you are within 500 miles of our manufacturing facility in California.