The Right Questions When Buying Wood - Part II

The Secrets to the Ideal Green, Sustainable & Pure Raw Wood

1.The Origin of the Wood

To transport wood from one continent to the other is affecting our environment and costs energy. You, as a customer want to be sure your wood is not from a radioactive contaminated area (e.g. Chernobyl, Fukushima) It is important that your wood is from well-managed forests and not from some clear or over felling area where reforestation and appropriate care for the re-growth is not appreciated.

My choice is local wood, because you automatically exclude these risks without having to find out from badly informed suppliers.
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2. The Age of the Trees

Durability and composure are influenced by the maturity of the tree. As a general rule for good wood: coniferous wood should be older than 120 years.

Fast-growing leaf trees like Birch and Alder: older than 50 years; moderate and slow-growing leaf trees like Maple, Ash, Oak and Elm: 100 to 200 years.

These indications are references for high quality workmanship purposes.

3. Potential Chemical Treatments:
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• Forest: Potential spraying of insecticides
• Transport: Timber transported across the oceans gets fumigated and often is treated preventatively with Timber / Wood preservatives. Spar/round wood or logs get treated when crossing national borders on its way from the forest to the saw mill.
• Sawmill: No fungicide impregnation on sawn wood. No wood preservatives at the wood yard.
• Processing: Particularly synthetic adhesives with active ingredients like Formaldehyde and Isocyanate.
• Surfaces: Wooden surfaces should be treated with natural resins, oils and or beeswax instead of synthetic paints and sealants.

If you want to be on the sure side, choose a supplier who confirms in writing that his supplies have not been chemically treated in their manufacturing process.

4. The Right Choice of Wood for the Project

It is best to consult a specialist or research on the internet.

Sophisticated wooden buildings require slow and steady grown trees. For heavy traffic areas, durability is of importance and hardwoods like beech, oak, and ash are excellent for solid floor boards. Environmentally, this is the best choice and it is wise to avoid hardening the surface with laminates and sealants. Outdoors it is best to use naturally weather resistant wood like larch, oak or untreated robinia.

With Holz100, you are guaranteed the ideal choice of wood which is the right answer to all of these questions - and more!