Today, This Old Wood, now based in Pflugerville, uses reclaimed and recycled lumber to build all kinds of custom furniture, walls and flooring.
In 2017, owner Jeff Spector took over This Old Wood from Draper. Two years later, This Old Wood relocated to Pflugerville, having outgrown its 1,000-square-foot workshop in Austin.
Spector is in the process of adding a new workshop to the existing property that is more than twice the size of its existing 2,400-square-foot workshop, and said he expects to move in sometime next year.
Spector said he is just as excited about the opportunity to make a custom workspace as he is about the increased size.
“It’s silly things like having the right outlet in the right place to run everything,” Spector said of the advantages of the addition to his facility.
This Old Wood’s process starts with obtaining the lumber, mainly from pre-20th century buildings that are set for demolition.
Spector said This Old Wood mostly takes apart barns but may be able to handle larger buildings such as warehouses as the business continues to grow.
With the lumber collected and sorted, staff members can start putting it to use in custom projects. Clients meet with Spector and other team members to iron out the details of their project, whether it be flooring, a mantel or a dining table.
Clients also have the option to choose pieces of wood from the lumberyard themselves.
“It’s kind of cool to be able to put your hands on it and everything,” Spector said. “Most of the people that sell reclaimed wood have a place out in the country somewhere, and they’ll just ship it to you.”
From there, This Old Wood team members stay in contact with the client throughout the building process to ensure the project turns out as the client imagined.
“We’re always going back and forth, texting pictures and stuff like that,” Spector said. “It can be hard to get the communication right, but ... clients really like that.”
Another advantage of building with reclaimed wood, Spector said, is the process requires cutting down far fewer trees than working with all new lumber.
By Spector’s estimate, the process at This Old Wood helps save approximately 2,500 trees per year through the method of using reclaimed wood.
Spector said one of his favorite parts of building new projects using reclaimed wood is getting to breathe new life into old materials, something the company’s clients also appreciate.
This Old Wood occasionally secures lumber from historic Texas buildings. Two examples include Gruene Hall and the Texas Military Institute.
“Something old has character,” Spector said. “I find people in Austin are really big fans of Texas history and stuff like that.”
This Old Wood
13313 Old Gregg Lane, Pflugerville
512-288-1194
www.thisoldwood.com
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.-3 p.m., closed Sun.
