Materials
All of the materials we use are locally sourced, and inspected to meet the needs of your project.
Pine
Pine is nature's gift to the modern building world. Have you ever gone to Home Depot or Lowes and seen SPF (Spruce, Pine, Fir) stamped on your otherwise completely twisted 2x4? These soft woods make up almost all the building blocks of framing especially around eastern/southern Ontario because we are able to sustainable harvest them. Although pine is a soft wood, it is strong and resistant to rot (not rot-proof, just more resistant than other woods). The best part is that the stuff is cheap! Unless the world flips its lid on lumber prices again. You can make just about make anything out of pine and stain takes to it amazingly so it is easy to change the colour. Plus this stuff is great for outside, remember that rot resistant part. If you want to make something on a budget then pine is the lumber for you!
Maple
Maple gives you a really nice white colour, although it can change with time and darken with exposure to UV light. Maple can be one hard son of a gun, this is why a lot of people choose it for flooring - heads up though, it will still dent and scratch… it's not invincible. You can find lots of maple in modern furniture as it accents a lot of other current styles very well. I personally love the combo of walnut and maple together but that's just me. If you want something really unique you should check out curly maple or spalted maple that always makes for an eye-catching piece.
Walnut
Walnut is our personal favourite hardwood! I love the rich brown colour it gives off especially after being sanded down and finished. Yes, you can go with cheaper woods and stain them to resemble the look of walnut but nothing will really capture those deep browns and black grains like the natural walnut. So if you want something that looks fancy with lots of character, this is the wood for you! P.S. My wife loves the colour so much I'm pretty sure my whole house will be made of walnut soon.
Cherry
Cherry starts off as a nice soft white colour that gains a reddish tone as it ages. We don't recommend staining cherry, I mean you can, but the natural colour is what most people are after. Cherry isn't too expensive as long as the market doesn't lose its mind again and I like using it for its unique colour in projects. Although it is a bit on the softer side, I really like the way cherry turns out for cutting boards or charcuterie boards.
Elm
These trees can be huge (60-80ft tall!!). One of the largest trees found in my eastern Canada, our neck of the woods…. You probably don't care about that though, you want to know how the wood looks. Elm has a nice light brown colour to it, it also has very distinct grains that almost look rough to your eye. If you're looking for something with some serious character, then elm is the wood for you.
Cedar
Cedar is a popular wood with lots of different uses. Much like spruce, it is a softwood and has a natural resistance to rot. Cedar in many outdoor applications is known for its warm colour, that turns grey colour after it has faded in the sun. But for indoor uses, there are a variety of colours - typically it will look pinkish red, almost purple - but it can also have a dark brown center. When finished properly, these colours really pop out and give a stunning look. If you want to see something really cool check out the Cheewhat cedar, it's a western red cedar, and that thing is HUGE!
Plywood
Plywood is great, it's not always the prettiest but it usually creates the foundation of a project. It’s under your flooring, in your cabinets and is known for its strength due the different layers. Plywood comes in many thicknesses and can be finished with maple, oak, birch and even walnut. Fun fact - if you count the layers in your sheet it will tell you the total thickness of the board. So if the label is missing at the hardware store, each layer is 1/8”, add them up, and it tells you the total thickness.
Epoxy
This stuff is a liquid that sets up as hard as concrete! Well maybe not that hard but pretty dang hard ok. Epoxy is great for filling knots or cracks to help prevent them from getting worse. It can also be used to join multiple pieces of wood into one giant slab. The fun part of epoxy is all the colour options, pretty much the whole rainbow and more. And if colour is not your thing, there is black, white and even clear! The options are endless when it comes to epoxy projects.
Finishes
All our finishes are food safe! So don't worry your teething fur baby (or you know, your actual baby) won't get sick if they decide to take a bite outta your product. We use other types of finishes upon request, but our preferred finishes are Odies Oil and Odies Wood Butter for table tops, and either Odies Oil, or Walrus Oil for cutting/charcuterie boards and other projects that don't need a more durable finish.
Metal
What can we say about metals, from what I know aluminum is lighter but expensive, and steel is heavier but cheaper. That's it. Now that every metal worker hates me, that's the simplistic idea of it. Depending on the project the metals can have a powder coat finish or just a simple paint. For exterior powder coated is recommended but it’s really not as necessary for interior, it essentially helps with wear and tear on the finish. We can order a variety of styles, or even work with a local welder to create something unique for your project.