Green Thinking from Kyle

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

When I was about 8 years old I gathered up some scraps of wood destined for the fire, and with a hand saw, a hammer and a few nails fashioned some clever side boards for my radio flyer. I didn't think much of it; I wanted sides for my wagon and I just made them; it wasn't until I heard a woman express her amazement to my mother over my accomplishment that I realized I had done something a bit out of the ordinary. The seeds of my passion for wood, design, craftmanship and conservation were sprouting at a young age.

As a supplier of wood building products and wood finish materials, and as part of my approach to tree hugging, HistoricWoods buys deeply into the action of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle especially when it comes to wood and construction. We realistically understand that the "greenest" house is the one that is never built. Even houses that are built with recycled materials, and in the most energy efficient manner possible, if not needed, is an entire waste of resources. The house we don't build doesn't consume our resources; I think we can do much better at "not building". I believe in the concept of Reduce, even if it cuts into the gross revenue a bit, but, obviously we can't just stop building, we gotta have shelter. A bit smaller dwellings with much better design Reduces our consumption and actually improves our lifestyle...too many of us are stuck in a home that functions much smaller than the square footage would suggest.

Building for the long term is, ultimately more economical, for example: a laminate floor that costs $4.00/sf lasts 10-15 years, but a $15.00/sf hardwood floor can last for 100 years or more. Long term economics and environmentalism clearly favors the enduring products, and is a significant component in my Reduce concept.

It should be obvious that HistoricWoods is deep into the Reuse and Recycle actions concerning building materials. I, for one, am not sure if we reuse or recycle wood. Some products, like our Antique Hand Hewn Timbers, look more like a reuse as we use the product as much in it's original form as possible; while Antique Beech Scar'dFace Flooring has been completely remilled appearing more like Recycle. Either way we are "all in" to the action of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. So if you come to us with a project that has gotten smaller because of great design and you want to build it with reused and recycled products, you will definitely get our creative juices flowing in how to help you accomplish your goals.

Kyle Moon is the owner of HistoricWoods and he has been recycling and reusing wood, professionally, for the past 15 years

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