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| Reclaimed Hardwood Flooring |
The great
forests of Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and South America are
being logged and cleared at a frightening speed. Within the life time of
a twenty-something all the great forests of the world could be
consigned to history books. Without forests we as a species are headed
for ecological disaster.
One of the main reasons for logging is
the demand from developed countries for hardwood timber that can be used
for construction, flooring and furniture making. We need to slow down
and even stop this hardwood demand.
The problem is that hardwood
flooring is allergen free and looks great. It is more stylish and
healthier than carpeting. If you don't want to carpet your room what can
you do to be environmentally friendly? There are three alternatives.
First you can use hardwood taken from a sustainably managed forest.
Secondly, you can use strand woven bamboo flooring instead of hardwood
flooring. And thirdly, you can use reclaimed hardwood for flooring.
Reclaimed
hardwood comes from many sources. Often it is from an existing floor.
This is called antique flooring. Often it is from a building destined to
be demolished. It is from landfill sites. It is from park waste. It is
from pulled down barns. It is from mine shafts. It is even from the
bottom of lakes and rivers. It is surprising how much hardwood can be
sourced that has been discarded or lost. Cities produce a wealth of
useful refuse. So do farms.
It is a simple matter to collect the
unwanted hardwood and kiln dry it then mill it into planks suitable for
flooring. The great advantage of this is that the hardwood can be
nationally or locally sourced and this reduces the carbon input
necessary to recycle the wood into flooring.
From a flooring point
of view, reclaimed hardwood flooring is more dimensionally stable than
new growth wood that often swells and shrinks after it is installed. On
top of this, it has a unique character very different from new hardwood.
Over the years the hardwood deepens in colour and complexity. The
reclaimed hardwood also often has a variety of nail holes, saw marks and
worm holes that add a fascinating new aesthetic dimension to the floor.
Every reclaimed hardwood floor looks unique. It can make a room.
Finally,
because of wood diseases and insect attack many classic American
hardwoods are now hard to find. Elms were devastated by Dutch elm
disease. Black locust trees have been ruined as a commercial timber by
borer insects. Because of this it is often easier and cheaper to find
reclaimed elm and black locust.
So, because reclaimed hardwood
flooring is sourced locally; because it is as hard and dense as new
growth hardwood; and because it looks great when installed in your home,
it makes a lot of sense to buy a reclaimed hardwood floor.