Got Old Wood Company A Treasure Hunt for Reclaimed Barn Wood

Some stores are built for quick errands. You walk in, find the thing on the list, pay, and leave.

Got Old Wood Company is not that kind of place.

This is the sort of shop where a person goes in looking for reclaimed barn wood for an accent wall and comes out thinking about mantels, hardwood scraps, old carvings, table slabs, and the strange life story of a board that somehow survived decades in a barn before landing in Salt Lake. It is part lumberyard, part antique hunt, part woodworking supply stop, and part imagination machine.

Located at 2870 S. 300 W. in Salt Lake, Got Old Wood Company is packed with the kind of material that does not come from a big-box aisle. Weathered boards. Old beams. Hardwood pieces. Recovered items tucked into corners. Odd treasures that make you stop, pick them up, and wonder where they have been.

I went in curious. I came out with rosewood, a pile of miscellaneous hardwood pieces I plan to turn into a flute, and an eagle carved in the U.S.S.R. for my wife’s knickknack tower. That is a pretty good summary of the place. You may find wood for a serious home project, or you may find something you had no idea you needed until it was sitting in your hands.

The showroom feels like a proper treasure hunt

The first thing that stands out at Got Old Wood Company is the feeling that every shelf has a surprise on it.

Eclectic items recovered from barns fill tables, shelves, nooks, and crannies throughout the showroom. There are pieces that look ready for a wall, pieces that beg to become furniture, and pieces that simply ask to be studied for a minute. Some have nail holes. Some carry saw marks. Some have aged into colors no stain can honestly copy.

That is the charm of reclaimed wood. It already has a past.

A new board from a lumber rack can be beautiful. No argument there. But reclaimed barn wood brings texture, age, and irregularity that feel earned. The gray face of an old plank, the darker edge of a beam, and the worn places around fasteners all tell you the material has worked for a living.

At Got Old Wood Company, those stories are not polished away. They are the point.

You can imagine an old barn standing through dry summers and cold winters. You can picture tools leaning against posts, animals moving through stalls, and sunlight slipping through gaps in the siding. Then you look at the same wood sitting in front of you and start thinking about its next life.

That next life might be:

• An accent wall with real weathering instead of printed fake grain

• A mantel with enough character to anchor a room

• A table, bench, shelf, or headboard

• Small craft pieces, boxes, frames, carvings, or instruments

• A one-off conversation piece that has no sensible category at all

  
  

Then there is the truly unexpected side of the shop. The kind of side where a dugout canoe for the rumpus room does not sound entirely out of place. That is the fun of it. Got Old Wood Company does not feel over-curated into sameness. It feels like someone saved interesting things and gave them enough room to be found again.

Reclaimed wood works because it already has character

There is a reason people go looking for old barn wood instead of buying something new and trying to make it look old.

Real age is hard to fake.

Old wood has been changed by weather, air, use, pressure, and time. The surface may be rough in one place and smooth in another. The grain may stand proud. The color may shift from silver-gray to warm brown to nearly black in the same board. Even imperfections become useful. Nail holes, checks, knots, and saw scars can add depth when used with care.

That makes reclaimed wood a strong choice for home projects that need warmth without feeling too polished.

An accent wall made from reclaimed barn wood can soften a room with plain drywall. A mantel made from an old beam can make a fireplace feel settled, as if it has been there for generations. Even small pieces can matter. A floating shelf, picture ledge, or handmade frame made from aged wood can change the feel of a corner.

The best pieces do not need much help. In many cases, the goal is to respect what is already there.

That does not mean every old board is ready to use the minute it comes home. Reclaimed material often needs careful sorting and planning. You look for old fasteners. You decide which face should show. You think about thickness, stability, and where the cracks help or hurt the project.

That is why a place like Got Old Wood Company is enjoyable for both builders and dreamers. Some people will walk in with measurements and a plan. Others will walk in with no plan at all and wait for a board, beam, or odd slab to start the conversation.

I fall somewhere in the second camp most days.

I like picking up pieces and letting the possibilities arrive one at a time. Could this become a flute? Could that become a handle? Could that small offcut make a carved bird, a box lid, or an inlay? A good wood shop does not just sell material. It wakes up the part of the brain that wants to make something.

The marks left behind are part of what makes reclaimed wood worth using.

Julie and Tammy make the visit feel personal

A shop like this depends on the people running it. The material brings you in, but the interaction often decides whether you go back.

At Got Old Wood Company, Julie and Tammy make the place feel welcoming.

Julie is the owner and does the woodworking. Her mother, Tammy, runs the store. That combination gives the place a practical, family-run feel. It is not a showroom where everything seems too precious to touch. It feels like a place where questions are welcome, curiosity is normal, and a person can take time poking around.

That matters when a shop is full of unique pieces.

If every item is different, shopping becomes less about grabbing a part number and more about talking through what might work. A customer may need boards for a wall and have no idea how much variation is too much. Someone else may want a mantel but needs help picturing the right scale. Another person may just want to browse, think, and see what the building has hidden away.

Julie and Tammy seem happy to let that happen.

They put up with an old guy wandering around, looking at everything, asking questions, and letting his imagination run wild. That is no small thing. Some places make browsing feel like a nuisance. This place makes browsing feel like part of the process.

And really, that is the right way to experience a reclaimed wood shop.

You need time to notice what is there. A small piece of rosewood may not call attention to itself at first. A stack of hardwood scraps may look ordinary until you start seeing flute blanks, knife scales, small carvings, pen blanks, or trim details. An old carving tucked away might become the perfect addition to a shelf at home.

My own finds were a mixed bag in the best possible way.

The rosewood caught my attention first. Then came the miscellaneous hardwood pieces, the kind I can sort, study, and eventually craft into a flute. And then there was the eagle carved in the U.S.S.R., which had nothing to do with my original purpose and everything to do with the pleasure of finding something unexpected.

That eagle went home for my wife’s knickknack tower. A good treasure hunt should include at least one item you cannot fully explain.

The best finds are the ones that start a project in your head

There is a special kind of joy in walking through a place and feeling your project list grow.

Not the stressful kind of project list. Not the list of things that need fixing around the house. I mean the better list, the one made of half-formed ideas and hopeful plans:

• That board could become a shelf.

• That beam might make a mantel.

• That hardwood scrap has music in it.

• That odd carved piece belongs somewhere, even if the somewhere has not been decided yet.

  
  

Got Old Wood Company is full of that kind of possibility.

For home builders and remodelers, the appeal is clear. Reclaimed barn wood can add warmth and texture to spaces that might otherwise feel flat. In a newer home, old wood gives a room a sense of history. In an older home, it can match the honesty of the place better than a new faux-rustic finish.

For woodworkers and craftspeople, the appeal is different but just as strong. Small pieces matter. Not every good project starts with eight-foot boards. Some begin with a handful of hardwood offcuts and an idea that keeps tapping you on the shoulder.

That is what happened with the flute material. I did not need a giant slab. I needed interesting wood with enough character and workability to become something personal. Finding that kind of material in a place full of reclaimed and unusual stock feels more rewarding than ordering a blank from a catalog.

The search becomes part of the finished object.

When I eventually make that flute, I will remember where the wood came from. I will remember walking the showroom, looking through the pieces, and thinking about sound, shape, and grain. That memory will live inside the project in a small way.

That is one of the quiet gifts of using reclaimed or found material. It carries more than its own history. It picks up a little of yours, too.

A few tips before visiting Got Old Wood Company

The best way to visit a shop like this is to leave a little room for surprise.

A strict shopping list can help, especially for a wall, mantel, or furniture build. Measurements matter. So does knowing the general look you want. But if you only hunt for one exact thing, you may miss the best piece in the room.

Here are a few simple ways to make the most of a visit.

Bring rough measurements.

If you are thinking about an accent wall, mantel, shelves, or table, have the basic dimensions ready. Even a quick sketch can help you judge what might work.

Look at both sides of a board.

Reclaimed wood often has different personalities on each face. One side may be gray and weathered. The other may show warmer grain or old saw marks.

Check the edges and ends.

The end grain, thickness, and edge shape can tell you a lot about how a piece might be used. A rough edge may be perfect for a rustic shelf but less useful for tight joinery.

Ask what is in stock.

Inventory changes at places like this. What you see on one visit may not be there the next time. Julie and Tammy can help point out pieces that fit your plan.

Buy the odd little piece if it speaks to you.

Within reason, of course. But the small, strange finds are often the ones you regret leaving behind.

That last point is how carved eagles end up on knickknack towers.

Unexpected finds are part of the fun at a reclaimed wood shop.

Why I will be going back

Some businesses are easy to like because they sell useful things. Others are easy to like because they make you feel at home. Got Old Wood Company manages both.

The useful part is obvious. If you need reclaimed barn wood, an old beam, a one-of-a-kind mantel, hardwood scraps, or unusual found pieces, the shop gives you plenty to look through. The stock has personality. The showroom rewards patience. The materials invite real projects.

The warmer part is harder to measure but just as important.

Julie and Tammy are two of the nicest people you will meet. They are happy to have people stop in, see what is in stock, and wander a little. That friendliness changes the whole experience. Instead of feeling like you are interrupting, you feel invited to explore.

I am not sure if being surrounded by all that weathered lumber makes my own smiling face feel a little less weathered, or if it is simply the joy of finding the unexpected hiding in a corner. Maybe it is both.

Whatever the reason, Got Old Wood Company is my type of business.

It is a place for people who still like materials with a past, objects with character, and shops where looking around is half the fun. Go for the barn wood. Go for the mantel. Go for the dugout canoe if that is what the rumpus room requires.

Just leave enough time to poke around.

Got Old Wood Company is more than a place to buy old lumber. It is a reminder that good material still has stories left in it, and sometimes the best project starts when you turn a corner and find something you never came in looking for.