“Black & Tan-Tan is one of my favorite materials in our offerings,” says Jered Slusser Pioneer Millworks Sales Manager. “It is incredibly versatile. We can get really creative with it in large or small batches.”

Pioneer Millworks reclaimed Black & Tan isn’t the typical oak flooring and siding. We have retrieved miles of pastoral fencing from horse farms and agrarian homes all to keep the wood from the landfill or incinerator and to give it a new lease on life. Rescued from the rolling pastures of Kentucky these durable boards have been through it all and will lend the same sort of longevity to your project.

Our Black & Tan-Tan is an exciting blend of warm hues and creamy neutrals with varying lights and darks. You’ll even find occasional knots and maybe even the mark of a horses tooth. The planks still contain the hints of non-toxic black paint from their previous life as farm fencing hidden deep in the grains and fissures of its smoothed surface. 

To make our Black & Tan - Tan we fully plane each reclaimed plank, removing the black paint to reveal the oak below. This process exposes previously unseen hues, prominent grain patterns, and the aforementioned historic markers resulting in a more dynamic and interesting surfacing material, unmatched by fresh sawn oak. When the black paint is un-surfaced, and the tan skip-planed, these contrasting colors create visual texture, stunning color patterns, and a completely unique look.

While our Black & Tan-Tan is a “clean” grade there is just enough character left behind to give every plank a tale to tell.

“Its story makes it one of my favorite reclaimed woods that we offer,” says Megan Avila Sustainability & ESOP Manager at Pioneer Millworks. “As an equestrian I love that this wood has a direct tie to the horse farms in Kentucky. Being able to choose how much of the traditional black paint is left behind gives it so many uses in design. And you can’t help but tell its story to folks who stop to admire it.”

Aesthetically, Black & Tan – Tan can work for any design idea, flooring, wall paneling, millwork, shelving – you name it. The single-width planks and regularity of the original fence boards make all of our Black & Tan grades a dependable product for large or modest volumes at an affordable price point.

“The other cool thing is that we mill the Black & Tan planks for floors, walls, or ceilings; solid, engineered, or as lamellas,” says Slusser. “That means we can fulfill designs that need just about any surface covered, in any volume.”