Heritage Salvage Repurposes Redwood Water Tank
Heritage Salvage has repurposed the redwood from a 75-year-old, 100,000-gallon water tank from San Rafael, Calif., turning it into 20 redwood table tops, counter front, and entry door panels for Gather restaurant, which will open Dec. 15 in Berkeley.
It began Summer 2008, when Marin Municipal Water District in San Rafael requested proposals for removal of wooden water tank. The 30-foot diameter, 20-foot tall tank held 1 million pounds of water. Senior Engineer reported all proposals too high and they could not afford to proceed. At that time, seeing the value and beauty of the redwood, Michael “Bug” Deakin, founder of Heritage Salvage, offered to take down the tank for $1.
Sixteen months later, Heritage Salvage has re-enlisted old growth redwood and materials reclaimed from the tank in more than 20 green projects, with it taking on new life as interior paneling, shelving, entertainment centers, bars, tables, trellises, and more.
The water tanks major appearances include:
- Windsor Firehouse #2 as exterior siding and arched door encasements;
- Martin’s West Gastro Pub in Redwood City as 26-foot curved bar complete with metal bands and siding, foot rails and curtain rods as well as wall shelving;
- Rickhouse on Kearny Street in San Francisco, complete interior done in whiskey barrel faux using all tank staves skins with band marks, and
- Gather Restaurant table tops and more in Berkeley.
“There was no question for us to use recycled materials in the crafting of our restaurant. We are located in the David Brower Center, the greenest building in the East Bay, and wanted to do it all sustainably. Our customers can now enjoy their seasonal local food on local wood that held waters of life, what could be better?” said Ari Derfel, co-owner of Gather.
Heritage Salvage, Petaluma’s green building source, specializes in reclaiming, repurposing, and reusing wood and building materials from windfalls and existing structures.