Anyone know wood prices of brazillian mahagony wall panelling? My aunt has a room about 20/25' x 15' x 12'.You figure the sq footage. How might I find it's worth?

Tere

Already checked ebay & craigslist & wikipedia.

This was installed in the early 60s

Well, I don't know if it is Brazilian mahogony, but I priced out 1/4" Mahogony ply for the Barth last year at $62.00 a 4x8 sheet. This will cover the walls but not finish them. So if the room is 22.5' by 15' and has 12' ceiling height, you would have 900 sq. ft. in walls, and 900 sq. ft. in ceiling. That totals 1237.5 sq ft. divide that by 32 sq. ft. per sheet and you would need 39 sheets if every cut was perfect(impossible). Thats $2,418.00 in base wood without framing it off, and before Uncle Sam gets his cut. By the time you furnish labor (2 guys x $25.00 an hour by Lord knows how long a period of time,... and then buy the trim and Trim it out,...then buy stain and stain it... then buy clear and clear it..I would say $15,000 conservatively) I have a buddy that hired some finish carpenters to do this kind of work out of oak in a hockey players house and it took them "weeks" to finish it. If that was the case, it would be over $20,000 easy. Nothing looks cooler than that stuff but it sure does not come cheap.

quote:

This was installed in the early 60s

Tere,
Are you asking the worth of the wood if stripped out of the room for resale?

Yes, she is (says Jim). This is actually 3/4" solid tongue and groove Brazilian mahogany. The aunt is going to a retirement home and I get the pleasure of having an estate sale for her stuff, and then getting the house ready to rent. (will eventually sell it when the market is ok). In this area, houses like hers are bought and torn down to make way for bigger/better etc. We're thinking this stuff is worth more than a wrecking ball or renters for that matter.
Jim

You need to find a dealer in used lumber, and/or exotic hardwoods, & get a bid, or several. There are several similar woods called mahogany that are not true mahogany, and it takes an expert to determine which is which, and it's market value.

Any solid South American hardwood that old should be like gold. Most of it has been cut long since, & most nations now restrict cutting & export of it.

Honduras mahogany, the only true mahogany was the gold standard in boat building, & any one who has worked with it understands why. Besides its beauty, it is a wonderful wood to work.

According to my local supplier of exotic woods, Honduras is sometimes available, at $7.60 to $9.00 per board foot. He says "Brazilian," mahogany of that age is probably actually Honduras because much of it came from Brazil.

At $9.00/bf for new wood, that paneling, if in good condition ought to be worth at least half to a wholesaler, but that's an uneducated opinion.

At 20' x 15' x 12', if it is 1" nominal stock, planed to 3/4", you're looking at 3600 bf, a fair chunk of cash.

Get an expert. Get several experts. Get several bids.

I buy from these folks: http://www.houstonhardwoods.co...d_moulding_about.php
who specialize in hardwoods. They may buy, refer you or at least be able to give you some idea of value. If they are 3/4" solid they would be appropriate for exotic flooring as well.

Interesting to read that...The family room in our home I grew up in was added on in 1965. It was about 15x30x12 and completely paneled in "mahogany". I remember adding a plug one time and the paneling was about 1/2" thick and it was solid not a veneer. Even the baseboards, the door trim and the doors were mahogany to match. I remember Dad and Mom treated the mahogany with a real "reverence"....I guess it was quite expensive.

A friend of mine, his parents paneled their den in 1960 with "Pecky cyprus". I remember him relating how incredibly expensive it was at the time...

You also need to take into consideration the cost and extent of refinishing once the paneling is gone. How is it attached, were the surfaces finished prior to installation, what about receptacles, etc??

Once you seem pretty sure of the value, I would put a few free ads in Craigslist to see if there is a remodeler who might take it down and do the refinishing work all in one deal.

I finished a basement in 1965, & solicited advice on paneling. What was called mahogany then was typically "Philippine" mahogany, i.e, luan. Rosewood veneer was the most expensive; beautiful, but above my pay grade. I settled for pre-finished birch veneer.

I used a lot of dimension luan refurbishing a couple older Honduras boats in later years, but it was harder to work, & never finished as well as the real thing.

Find a local chapter of the ACBS, Antique and Classic Boat Society. It is nearly impossible to get matching quality mahogany of that period. You might find good help both in pricing and moving the wood.
Good luck,