Kintore Custom Hardwoods is a local family run business located just outside of Kintore, Ontario. This new company was started in response to the infestation of the local ash tree population from the Emerald Ash Borer insect.
We bumped into Brent Houston, the owner of Kintore Custom Hardwoods last Friday at Pazzo Taverna & Pizzeria in Stratford and struck up a conversation. We learned about this amazing family-owned business and went out to visit them last Sunday. We were so impressed with their store and their story. The next time somebody says they “turned lemons into lemonade”, I hope you will remember the story I am about to share.
Here is what Brent had to say.
“As we watched the trees in our family forest start to die due to this bug we knew it would be in our best interest to try to salvage as much of the beautiful hardwood as we could. With the purchase of our Woodmizer LT40 sawmill and some entrepreneurial spirit we began our journey.
As we started to learn about the hardwood industry we continued to build and grow as our needs expanded. We now have 2 fully operating wood drying kilns. One is a solar kiln that uses the sun’s energy to dry and cure the wood down to the appropriate levels of moisture content required by professional woodworkers. The other kiln uses a heat source from our wood furnace where we are able to burn the leftover scrap wood from the sawmilling process in order to maximize efficiency and reduce both waste and our carbon footprint.
As our company name and reputation grew we knew the next step would include a storefront in order to house our products and create a unique experience for our customers. With help from great friends and colleagues we created a timber frame showroom. This custom-made timberframe building was built using salvaged ash timbers from our forest. Inside our showroom, customers are able to browse through our inventory of hardwood slabs for their next woodworking project. We offer all local species of trees including ash, maple, walnut, locust, cherry and oak.
You will also be able to find many finished wood products that make great gifts for any occasion. We have a large inventory of custom made charcuterie boards and cutting boards. If you are in the market for a new custom hardwood dining table, bartop, island counter, shelves or fireplace mantel we can help you out there as well. Everything is custom made to our customer’s preferences. We also offer portable sawmilling so we can come to you if you have logs of your own that you would like to turn into lumber for your own projects.”
Please checkout their Facebook and Instagram pages where you can find a large variety of the products they offer. Come out and visit their new showroom located at 155999 15th Line, Kintore. They are currently on limited store hours so please call ahead to make sure they are available to help you pick out the perfect gift or even create your next custom hardwood project.
Phone: 519-495-4002
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kintorecustomhardwoods/
Instagram: @kintore_custom_hardwoods
