Salvaging a River Log | This Old House

Kevin O'Connor travels up the Edisto River to meet a unique lumberjack who dives for a sunken cypress log.
#ThisOldHouse #AskTOH
SUBSCRIBE to This Old House: bit.ly/Subscrib...
Kevin O'Connor watches diver and carpenter Justin Herrington surface a cypress log that has been submerged in a river for decades. Then they take it to Justin’s shop to make slabs for the new dining room table.
Join This Old House INSIDER to stream 41 years of This Old House and 18 years of Ask This Old House, access live streaming events with our experts, and enjoy exclusive deals and discounts: bit.ly/TOHInsider
Plus, download our app for streaming full episodes to your connected TV, phone or tablet: bit.ly/TOHApp
Watch the full episode:
bit.ly/2CCtTUF
About This Old House TV:
This Old House is the No. 1 multimedia home enthusiast brand, offering trusted information and expert advice through award-winning television, a highly regarded magazine, and an information-driven website. This Old House and Ask This Old House are produced by This Old House Ventures, LLC and are presented on PBS by WETA Washington, DC.
Follow This Old House and Ask This Old House:
Facebook: bit.ly/ThisOldH...
Twitter: bit.ly/ThisOldH...
bit.ly/AskTOHTw...
Pinterest: bit.ly/ThisOldH...
Instagram: bit.ly/ThisOldH...
Tumblr: bit.ly/ThisOldH...
Salvaging a River Log | This Old House
/ thisoldhouse

[@LFGM24]

Cool stuff, should do a follow up video to see the finished product

[@saulgoodman2018]

That's would be years later.

[@richardcabrera1583]

Left me hanging. I wanted to see what they were going to make out of it. Lol

[@Fe7Ace]

They make it into a natural grain table top, he mentioned it at the end.

[@richardcabrera1583]

HahThatsWhatSheSaid that’s why I said I wanted to SEE what they were going to make out of it

[@SciPunk215]

@medusa little I'm not exactly sure what Dmac 740 is referring to, but we have plenty of examples of Native American dugout canoes using a single tree trunk. There was no joinery or glue involved.

[@rupe53]

@@SciPunk215 ... to add to your post... it's the wet / dry cycle that promotes splitting. Keeping it wet will make it last longer than out of water storage for the season.

[@MasterChief-sl9ro]

Those old trees are worth several thousand dollars.. Uncut......

[@george8873]

I remember Norm showing this process on The New Yankee Workshop years ago too. He used some of the wood to build one of his projects.

[@george8873]

@Yo Mama Boy, you look silly. I may have used the too in the wrong place, but I did use the correct too. Norm hasn't made a New Yankee Workshop much longer than TWO years ago, lol.

[@augustreil]

@@george8873, Yo Mama didn't use the correct, one, won ? Or is that part of the joke ?

[@donabele1243]

What a gentleman - wiped the sawdust off his hands before he shook Kevin's hand! A trait not found often nowadays.

[@tombomombodombo]

Maybe he's wiping the covid off. Seriously though, they should set a good example and not shake hands and physically distance.

[@macaroniandtuna]

@@tombomombodombo This was probably recorded before the pandemic. Most of the videos they post are at least a year old.

[@donabele1243]

@@macaroniandtuna I agree, but since these are newly 'edited' videos, they should put a disclaimer up. But then again, they should also be posting actual good content, lately things have been a bit thin!

[@jim1550]

Hell ya. More of this harvesting old wood. Nothing better.

[@im_a-man]

Y'all shoulda called in shelby the swamp man on this one

[@iIoveualways]

Got to get that log, got to get that money! 😃

[@jacksonbennett6151]

“Alright, we made our first cut.” What do you think we’re blind? For those who are blind, that was clearly not the first cut judging by the previous slab and fresh flat cut on the top of the board...

[@candaceaustin4258]

Have learned so much from all of you!❤

[@priceandpride]

brutal work, did you see his gnarled hands?

[@burtreynolds5427]

FYI Columbus never set foot in North America

[@rupe53]

W Daddario ... these days pretty much everyone would agree he never set foot in mainland USA but we all seem to agree on the time frame of his exploits.

[@burtreynolds5427]

rupe53 yes that’s correct, but I have a feeling that this guy retained the myth from his elementary school play

[@Jjrdn10]

What was the log worth??

[@scottcarter90]

Old timbers are a good find! How long did it take to dry?

[@Patmanduu]

I read somewhere the dry time is roughly 1 year per inch of wood. I’m guessing there’s some sort of a kiln process for speeding that up, but probably warps it. Feel free to correct me.

[@MasterChief-sl9ro]

They have a process that cuts that down. A heated room. Where they can control moisture content..

[@Patmanduu]

Makes sense.

[@vaultsoferowid]

I've got a few 5 inch logs I salvaged from a lake. I put it in my enclosed patio and it took about 3 months to dry out during the summer time.

[@augustreil]

Pour some water on it so we can see the grain !!

[@kkknotcool]

@@ekujj13 I'm pretty sure he was joking.

[@dessertman1181]

That was awesome

[@chucklotro8749]

Do Cypress tress still grow in that area?

[@davidpearson3304]

Yes

[@sgvpotter]

just wondering about legality or paying for salvage off of river?

[@jake9705]

I'm so confused.

[@ae1ae2]

This Old House has a podcast called Clearstory and they had an episode on this, so I'll recap ... Old growth trees tend to have grown much slower than trees we grow for lumber today. This means their rings are much closer together. This makes this lumber much more resistant to rot and twisting, and they're stronger than the fast-growing lumber of today. That is, the old growth lumber is very high quality and can fetch ~10x the price of today's regular lumber. If you find old growth wood in an old house, don't throw it out! You can sell it for very good money (or repurpose it!). Matt Risinger had a video a couple months ago that discussed this in a bit more detail (video title: "Don’t throw it in the dumpster! Surprise salvage value in this old Remodel!!!").

[@augustreil]

@@ae1ae2, All true !

[@HarlemGreatest]

Old garbage rerun

[@myshadowkungfu]

Beautiful.

[@cattigereyes1]

Would they not oven dry the wood?

[@rupe53]

cattigereyes1 ... you could kiln dry the wood but drying too fast may cause a certain percentage to be rejected for splits. Natural drying over time yields a higher percentage of usable lumber that's less prone to problems later.

[@thomaslandry403]

nice

[@tonythetiger9839]

this is an average guy hunting for rich peoples status symbols

[@saulgoodman2018]

That will take years to dy out.

[@saulgoodman2018]

@candlemousephone It also goes according where and how it is stored. But is that also from 100% soaking wet. That have been in a lake for 200 years?

[@saulgoodman2018]

candlemousephone that’s not the point. The point is that it will be soaking wet.

[@jakeschroeder1553]

Is TOH just releasing Season 42 in 5-minute clips? Where's the loft? Where's AskTOH? I get that COVID's a thing but you can't just wear masks and stay within in the Boston area?

[@Mikdugal1]

Stop living in fear

[@porkchop1343]

This is a nice video but has absolutely nothing to do with home improvement..

[@TaweeWannasing]

I like old woods