Buying Wood products for your home

This is something I only learned about a few years ago but it is something every consumer needs to know when buying any kind of wood product (from hard wood floors, cabinets, decks, furniture, to the raw lumber you buy for home renovations).

With growing concerns over lost rain forests, global warming and the amount of waste in our landfills - there are things we can do to help...

We as consumers can make a drastic difference in the world today by the choices that we make each day. There are three areas where even something as simple as choosing to build a deck can have a global impact on our world today.

 BIO-DEGRADABLE - With so many diverse building materials available choosing the right materials can be tough (wood, plastic, metal, polymers, etc.) Wood is ideal as your first choice as it is naturally bio-degradable. It will last a very long time and when it finally is ready to throw out the wood can be chipped or mulched for your garden or it can be burned providing fuel or even if it does end up as landfill it is "clean" landfill that will naturally break down and will nourish the soil as it decomposes. 

RENEWABLE - With fuel prices constantly on the rise petroleum based products will be affected as well. Experts predict that we will be out of oil within our lifetime. Wood is a renewable resource that if cared for can be grown for generations to come. Forestry not only provides generations with raw wood materials, but it also provides oxygen that this planet needs for life to exist. 

CERTIFIED - We can help preserve the old forests by making sure any product we buy are made from certified wood. Forrest certification is a "seal of approval" awarded to forestry operations that adopt environmentally and socially responsible forestry practices and to companies that process and sell products made of certified wood.

If the company you are considering buying wood or wood products from does not specify "FSC certified" odds are their wood is coming from anywhere without regards for protecting our old growth forests and the habitats they provide to wildlife.