Though Joe citizen isn’t swinging by the Home Depot to buy “mushroom boards”, in the reclaimed wood industry this material has become a staple product for many businesses. Pioneer Millworks however, hasn’t traded in mushroom boards in nearly a decade. That doesn’t mean that if the right opportunity arises, we won’t jump at an opportunity to add this cool wood to our East Coast and West Coast Inventory.

In this case, the opportunity came to us in the form of the the old Franklin Mushroom Farm which is currently being re-purposed as the Washington County Agri-Business Park. Last week, over the course of three days we stacked, banded and shipped over 50,000 square feet of this textured product.

So what is this “mushroom board”? Well, as I understand it, these hemlock boards were loaded with straw and manure and seeded with spores. As the mushrooms grew, they consumed the softer tissue of these boards thereby leaving behind a surface that looks heavily weathered. The dark brown patina, black staining and expressive grain pattern make these boards look remarkably like old chestnut (sans the wormholes). The face that was not ravaged by fungi retains the original circle-saw marks.

The morel of the story:

As far as consistent, textured paneling products go, this material is the Shit-ake!