"Old Wood, New Life"

by Jose L. Sanchez Jr.
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
August 13, 2004

Michael Deakin is hoping to make a new living from old wood.

Two years ago, Deakin was a successful home builder in the Occidental area, he said. But he decided to give that up to pursue his love of old-growth redwood full time.

Now he's trying to make a go of a salvage, recycling and furniture-making business west of Petaluma.

"I'd rather do this," he said. "It just makes me feel good."

A native of British Columbia, Deakin, 55, grew up in a small town and loved to go exploring the old cabins in the woods nearby, he said. Many years later, driving around Sonoma County, he became interested in the old farm buildings in the area and a hobby gradually turned into a passion, he said.

Deakin chose Petaluma for his new business because of the many chicken coops, barns and other old wooden buildings in the area, he said. They are the prime source of the dense, tightly grained old redwood he loves to work with.

Redwood once grew on about 2 million acres of coastal Northern California, Deakin said. But today there is little old-growth redwood available for logging, he said.

Much of the old wood Deakin uses comes from 300- to 500-year-old trees cut down 60 to 100 years ago. New, farmed redwood grows much faster and has a lot more water and air in it, Deakin said. It can't compare to the old-growth wood in terms of beauty, strength and durability, he said.

Besides, he said, reusing good wood from old buildings is better than cutting down more trees. "Recycling is saving a tree somewhere."

He gets most of his wood by providing a removal service to property owners who need to get rid of old coops or barns.

"He takes this old stuff and turns it into beautiful furniture," said Christina Isetta, who manages her family's landscaping business.

Isetta Landscape recently bought land in Penngrove to use as a nursery and contracted with Deakin to remove an old chicken coop from the property.

"We just loved what he was doing," Isetta said. "We are trying to get into recycling and doing organic growing and we kind of clicked."

But it's surprising how many folks simply won't part with their old coops and barns, Deakin said.

"Even when the outbuildings are slowly morphing into the ground, the typical response is, `No, we like our chicken shack,"' Deakin said.

Whether he gets them to let him take down their coops or not, going around talking to octogenarian farmers gives Deakin a fascinating window into the past, he said.

"Back in my day I could pull a gun off the fireplace, jump on my horse, ride all over the county and shoot whatever I wanted to," Deakin said one old-timer told him.

Deakin's Heritage Salvage consists of a couple of large chicken coops he uses to store and work wood and about an acre of ground piled with some of his recovered treasures.

His stock includes the remains of a barn that already was old when its existence was first recorded at the start of the 20th century, a flagpole from the 1880s, fruit boxes and drying trays, stepladders, and even gutters carved out of old redwood.

During the winter, he visits local beaches to collect driftwood washed down streams.

The old redwood cannot be used for structural support unless it undergoes a costly inspection process but it is a popular indoor and outdoor accent material for buildings that require an old country look, Deakin said.

One project he is working on is an outdoor event venue for parties and weddings, and he gets a chuckle out of the architect's description of the wood that is needed: "discoloration, nonstructural cracks, scars, etcetera are desirable."

Deakin's work plan is to continue salvaging wood through the summer, build furniture through the winter and then have a show in Petaluma sometime in the spring. He will be offering different types of tables, chests, benches and other furniture.

Among the items likely to be on display will be "harvest tables" Deakin typically makes from old barn siding. One he currently has in his shop is a golden-reddish color, with deep, soft grooves where decades of rain wore away the softer wood between rings of sterner stuff. Traces of yellow lichen are preserved beneath a transparent finish.

It's not the kind of wood you can pick up at a lumber yard, Deakin said.

Visits to Heritage Salvage are by appointment only. Deakin can be reached at 874-9010 or 799-4418.

Michael Deakin, a woodworker who specializes in reusing old-growth redwood from old barns and chicken coops, sits in his Petaluma workshop Tuesday. Deakin chose Petaluma for its many chicken coops, barns and other old wooden buildings.