Eco-Friendly Wood and Wood Products

One of the best ways to be an eco-woodworker is in the choice of materials for your woodworking projects. Here are some of the eco-choices:

Reclaimed wood
Sustainably grown certified wood
Green wood products

Reclaimed Wood

Reclaimed, rediscovered, recovered, recycled, and reused are terms that refer to wood that has been given a new lease on life. The category includes: 1) timber recovered from river beds, lake bottoms, swamps, and the forest floor; 2) wood previously used in industrial mills, warehouses, barns, homes, boats, wine tanks, railroad ties, fences, furniture, and other products; and 3). wood salvaged from diseased trees, storm damaged trees, old orchards, driftwood, landfills, and various types of urban "debris".

Environmentally, reclaimed woods are the soundest choice because their use replaces the need to harvest new timber. The wood is already out there, it's just a matter of finding it, cleaning it, and milling it. Woodworkers that use reclaimed woods find that they are definitely worth the extra effort since many of these woods have a richness of grain, color, and character that is unmatched in woods found today. And wood from old-growth trees come in sizes that are virtually impossible to find today. Some of the best quality wood comes from old-growth trees. Old-growth timber is often harder, denser, and more dimensionally stable than wood from young trees. (Much of this stability comes from the fact that the wide trees yielded so much quarter-sawn lumber). It also tends to have fewer knots and structural defects. Of course, reclaimed woods may have nail holes, metal stains, and other imperfections, but that's part of the appeal of these woods.

Another appealing aspect of reclaimed wood is that each piece is virtually one of a kind with its own distinct character and history. Products made from reclaimed wood products provide a sense of history and place. When the old baseball stadium is torn down, it means something to receive a baseball bat made from beams in the old building as a gift. Likewise for kitchen cabinets that you made for your home from woods salvaged from Grandpa's old barn or smokehouse. Grandpa would be proud of you.

A number of companies have emerged in recent years to sell products made from recovered woods. For example, at Mendocino Specialty Lumber in Hydesville, CA, they salvage old-growth redwood logs that were felled in the late 1800's or early 1900's, and were left on the forest floor for various reasons. These logs are then milled into siding, paneling, wainscoting, flooring, and a number of other specialty wood products. As another example, Whit McLeod makes arts and crafts tables and other furniture from recycled white oak wine casks that were originally put into service in the late 1800's. (some with 7 to 12 foot long quarter sawn white oak staves!). And, CitiLog has established an entire business of creating custom millwork from salvaged city logs.

Some of the most popular reclaimed woods are the oaks, particularly white oak because of its strength, stability and the beautiful antique patina it achieves over time. Old growth heart pine, nearly extinct, is a popular wood that grew in the southeast U.S. and is obtained from old warehouses and factories. Old-growth redwood and Douglas fir are commonly "rescued" in the western U.S. Other favorites include chestnut, black cherry, cypress, hemlock, and white pine. Some woods, such as the American chestnut, are virtually extinct, so large beams and planks from these species are particularly prized.

Perhaps the main drawback to using reclaimed wood is the effort involved in cleaning the wood, removing any nails or other debris embedded in the wood, and milling the wood into usable sizes. Depending on the source of the wood, this prep work can be very labor-intensive which is why reclaimed lumber can be quite pricey -- unless you do it all the work yourself.

Certified Woods

As a woodworker, you can do your part to support environmentally responsible sustainable forestry practices by purchasing certified woods. Certified woods come from "well-managed" forests in which the long-term health of the total forest ecosystem is emphasized - the trees, under-story plants, water resources, wildlife habitats, recreational pursuits, and employment opportunities for local communities. A forest can become certified by meeting forest management standards established by a certification entity such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). These standards ensure that forests are managed in an ecologically sound, socially responsible and economically viable manner.

Certification standards also cover the entire chain-of-custody from stump to shelf. For example, in order for wood to be labeled "FSC-certified", it must be tracked from the forest, through manufacturing, distribution and to the final point of sale. The purpose of the chain-of-custody is to ensure that wood products endorsed by the FSC actually originate from well-managed forests. Chain-of-custody certifications primarily involve careful inventory management and record keeping.

So, where can you get certified wood? Certified wood products are not widely available at home improvement stores and lumberyards but that's likely to change. Home Depot, for instance, has been steadily moving towards selling more FSC certified wood since 1999. And like a number of other companies, they have shifted buying wood from questionable sources to companies that practice responsible forestry (although not necessarily certified). To locate certified forest products suppliers in your area, try out the search tool at the Certification Resource Center. Chances are you'll find a source not too far from home. Just remember that certified lumber should have a stamp, label, or tag identifying it as such.

Prices for certified wood are generally higher than for non-certified wood owing to factors such as the extra labor involved in the certification process. But, as more certified products enter the market, prices are expected to decrease. Note that tropical hardwoods as well as domestic hardwoods and softwoods are all available as certified woods.

It's an encouraging sign that a growing number of companies are using certified wood in their products. For example, the Gibson guitar company is now manufacturing its Les Paul Standard model from certified maple harvested by the Menominee Tribal Enterprises in Wisconsin and mahogany harvested by Sociedad de Productores Forestales Ejidales in Mexico. Since 1991, Herman Miller, a global supplier of office furniture, has purchased woods coming only from sustainable supplies. As another example, Maine WoodNet (MWN) is assisting a number of small to medium size wood products firms in marketing custom products such as conference tables that are made from certified woods harvested from local forests.

Green Wood Products

No, we're not talking about unseasoned lumber. In this case, "green" refers to reconstituted wood products that have recycled content, low toxicity or other eco-friendly qualities. These products include formaldehyde-free composite wood panels, bio-panels made from agricultural fibers such as sunflower hulls, wheat straw, and sugar cane fiber, arsenic-free pressure-treated lumber, engineered structural wood, and recycled wood/plastic composite lumber.

A good example of an eco-wood product is Homasote, a fiberboard made from 100% recycled paper (mainly newspaper, lottery tickets, and paperback books) with no formaldehyde or asbestos additives. The panels are fully biodegradable, have twice the insulation value of wood, resist insects, water, and mold, and act as a noise barrier. They are typically used as a sound insulator under drywall and other wall coverings.

Formaldehyde-free medium density fiberboard (MDF) is now available. Two of the best known brands are Medex and Medite which are made from waste wood fiber that is a by-product of wood processing and lumber milling operations. MDF can also be sandwiched between wood veneers to create panels with a solid wood appearance. Although heavy, such MDF wood panels excel at furniture applications where flatness and dimensional stability are important. They also save on the use of solid timber and create a healthier indoor environment because of greatly reduced formaldehyde out-gassing.

Traditional engineered wood products such as plywood, oriented strand board (OSB or "wafer board"), glued-laminated timber, wood I-joists, and laminated veneer lumber are an eco-friendly option in the sense that they are generally manufactured from fast growing, underutilized, and readily replenished wood species such as aspen and poplar. Their use helps to reduce logging pressures in older, more valuable forests. In fact, it seems likely that the engineered-wood industry will do more to save our old-growth forests than any other factor, given the overall size of the industry. Unfortunately, the glues and resins used to create these products are typically not very eco-friendly from an air-quality perspective.

For outdoor applications, a very viable eco-choice is manufactured lumber made from recycled plastic and wood. Composite plastic lumber is low-maintenance, arsenic-free, rot proof, and will not crack splinter or chip. It also does not require finishing or sealing. It is ideal for non-structural uses such as decks, outdoor furniture, fences, and landscape borders. Composite plastic lumber is a great way to recycle materials that might otherwise end up in the local landfill.