Wood Flooring

Wood Flooring

Brought to you by Devin Stubblefield

The world of wood flooring is vast and varied. Of all the sites I visited, www.ecotimber.com, a local company out of San Raphael, provided the most variety of Forest Stewardship Council certified wood flooring.

“The only forest certification system that enjoys the support of environmental groups worldwide is that of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which is independent, nonprofit, and has a mechanism for tracking wood from the forest to the consumer. The U.S. Green Building Council only recognizes FSC certification as evidence of the sustainability of a wood product. If you want verification that the wood you are purchasing came from a truly well-managed forest, demand FSC-certified material, and demand proper documentation.”

In there web site is a heading “Is it really Eco?” that breaks down the different certifying organizations and why the FSC is what to look for.

From the prospective of embodied energy, I found the reclaimed woods to be top of the list.

“EcoTimber® reclaimed wood flooring is remilled from tight-grained, old-growth lumber from deconstructed buildings (ranging from former military bases to Kentucky tobacco barns) or salvaged from waterways or urban areas. Nail holes, streaking, and other character marks are part of the rustic appeal of this unique resource.

Forest Salvage flooring is cut from standing dead or wind-fallen trees.”

I was also impressed with the Walnut flooring. It is so beautiful and comes from the walnut farms of central California. Eco Timber has made this unused resource into an amazing bi-product of the walnut industry. I’ve included part of the article “The Walnut Story”

“Most of today’s Walnut

Flooring is sourced from the

Natural hardwood forests in

The eastern United States.

The non-productive Walnut is mostly chipped for use as

Biomass fuel in generating electricity. Some Walnut burls

and crotches are saved and become fancy figured burl veneer

Found in luxury automobile dashboards and fine furniture.

EcoTimber’s Orchard Walnut

Flooring, however, is saved

From the chippers working the

California Walnut Orchards;

And recycled by EcoTimber

To reveal it’s swirling grained,

Unique beauty.

The wood used in this

Flooring is sourced from

Commercial Walnut

Orchards located in the

Central Valley of California.

Here, approximately 200,000 acres of perpetual Walnut

Orchards, maintained by hundreds of small growers, produce

98% of the U.S. nut production. When the Walnut orchards

Age, (approximately forty years), they lose nutting productivity.

They are then cut down and replanted to start the orchard

Cycle again, with the first nuts produced in only four years.”

The site offers a large selection of woods grown all over the world. Beautiful wood in gorgeous colors. Although the embodied energy would be greater getting an exotic wood, it might be worth it if you were trying to create a certain feeling or effect.

I’ve found a number of websites that highlight the magical properties of wood. I think it would be a beautiful layer of design to incorporate the innate energetic properties of the wood flooring you are living your life upon. I’ve included samples from my search of “Magical properties of trees” from www.goldentreewands.com

“Oak is an excellent healing wood. Connected strongly to the Earth, it can easily channel natural life energies, and help sense where healing might be needed. This wood helps center the mind, allowing it to focus on the task at hand and ignore distractions. It can also help bring about desirable change in love matters. Oak helps promote both observation and intuition.” “Maple is a traveler’s wood. Those who are always on the move and changing will feel right at home with this type of energy. It allows a person to focus in on the choices in any situation, eliminating luck and chance. It enhances intellectual pursuits and learning.”

“An extremely earth-centric wood, Cherry has very grounded energy. Earth energy is very levelheaded, non-impulsive. It helps us to see the here and now, think clearly, and act upon rationality rather than emotion.

Aligned with the Moon and Mars, cherry is highly useful for intuitive magic and conquering conflict. This would be an excellent wood for divination or medium work, as well as healing and love magic. As a magical tool, it is highly recommended for those who identify well with earth energy.”

As far as adhesives, EcoTimber offers HealthyBond.

“Ideal for gluing down our Prefinished Engineered flooring — as well as Solid Bamboo flooring — HealthyBond is virtually VOC-free, and is GreenGuard® Indoor Air Quality Certified.”

Based on my research, I would say there are a lot of healthy options in wood flooring. EcoTimber distributes to many local businesses, including Green Fusion at 14 Greenfield road in San Anselmo. Their phone number is 415-454 0174.

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