About Us
It all started with a tree.
When we purchased our century home (circa 1857) in 2014, one thing that caught our eye was the very large, very old Norway Maple in the front yard.
As time went on, this maple started to pose a problem. The tree started dropping it’s branches during storms, sometimes blocking the road, the driveway or the yard. We had arborists in check it out, but unfortunately the recommended
outcome for safety was to remove the tree.
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Timmmber.
September 2019 the tree came down. But instead of having the company take the wood away, we decided to keep the wood and have it slabbed up. We couldn’t bare the thought of all that beautiful history lining the landfills (TRUE FACT: cut down trees are just thrown out) Over the course of the fall, we had two millers in.; one with an Alaskan Chainsaw Sawmill and one with a Bandsaw Sawmill. With plans to put the wood into our house for various projects, we began the task of air-drying it.
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Enter COVID-19.
With the lockdown of March 2020, Rod, a locomotive engineer for Via Rail by trade, was now faced with a lot of free time on his hands. With the unknown timeframe of how long this would last, or how long he would have some compensation from work to do so, he started looking for other ways to make money for our family. Many had had interest in purchasing some of our wood, so Rod started looking elsewhere to offer a variety.
And the rest as they say is history.
Now we have over 500 slabs and beams of various shapes, sizes and species. We have since expanded the Shoppe and moved the main operation to a rented property between Newtonville and Port Hope.
The Wood Shoppe is able to assist clients every step of the way. From the log removal with our winch and trailer to the milling of the slabs using our Woodmizer XL250 sawmill, to the drying with our Nyle proffesional kiln and picking out the perfect piece. Using our planer or router sled, we can get your pieces flattened and ready to finish, and if you need help with the finishing we will connect you with one of our local partnered company to get that done too!
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For information on Wholesale Pricing Click HERE
Who Are We?
The Wood Shoppe on Mill Street is co-owned and operated by couple Janel and Rod Tutak. The Shoppe office is located in our family home where we raise our four children and two dogs, We are learning as we go and are happy to help our customers find the perfect piece of wood for their project.
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As mentioned, Rod works full time at Via Rail as a locomotive engineer. He had the vision to turn his hobby into something more. Friendly, outgoing and knowledgeable, he’s your guy if you have questions about the type of wood for your project. You’ll find him at the property or answering the phone the majority of the time.
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Janel is a stay-at-home mum to their four kiddos. She’s more of the behind the scenes partner at the Shoppe. If you purchased any of our pyrography ornaments, that was her. She loves all things creative and so is happy to help with that side of things, although she can be found lugging wood with the best of them.