Hasta La Ideas

We know that both Coney Island and Atlantic City used valuable Ipe (and in AC’s case, later, Ipe-like Cumaru) to make their boardwalks, starting in the 1960s. With a 25-year lifespan, the lumber in those boardwalks was completely replaced once or possibly even twice. So what happened to all of the old wood? Just because it was no longer suitable as decking didn’t mean the wood was completely rotted through, as the planks could always be machined down and cut into smaller pieces to be reworked.

Well, it seems the traditional thing to do with that still-valuable wood…was to throw it out. According to an article in an Atlantic City local paper from 2013,

In the past, all of the wood removed from the Boardwalk through repairs and maintenance by the city’s internal carpentry division was thrown out, [said Atlantic City Public Works Director Paul Jerkins.]

Thankfully, that same article points out that the latest batch of wood to be removed was auctioned off. “Designers…turned [the old planks] into custom-built tabletops, theater floorboards and outdoor benches.” As people have gotten hip to the fact that huge lots of Ipe and Cumaru are becoming available, the city now expects construction companies bidding on Boardwalk renovation projects to adjust their bids accordingly; the thinking goes that construction crews can make extra money by saving the wood that they remove from the structure and re-selling it.

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