Tag Archives: grades of wood

Reuse, Reclaim, Recycle… The New 3 R’s

With the controversy of Global Warming, whether you believe it or not, it certainly shouldn’t prevent you from reusing goods in the home. I recall in the eye popping book by Aldous Huxley, A Brave New World, one of the main concepts in the “New World” was to never recycle anything. It gives one the idea of a stratosphere of rubbish floating around in outer space, so much for starry nights…

I know I have said it before, but I always donate anything of value to a local charity rather than putting into the trash.

Recently, I started a design project for an office renovation and I discovered beautiful old wood behind walls that needed to be removed to make way for other things. My contractor and I, both having an eye for the art of reclamation put our heads together and decided to reuse some of that old timber.

We saved a substantial amount of wood from the early 1900′s. And the best part? We saved the client hundreds of dollars that he would have had to spend to get what we gave him out of his old walls!

I realized that there are things that don’t really get factored into reusing the old until you really look at it. So I thought I would give the savings of the reusable goods: the cost of wood, the cost of transporting the wood, the cost of the people to stock the wood, the cost of the drive to the store to procure the wood, the cost of the dump run to remove the wood from the property… I mean it goes on and on, not to mention the eco-footprint one saves in reclamation!

Also, the grade of wood from the early 1900′s is truly incomparable. It is magnificent to look at and feel! When it is all done I will post a picture.

It is a growing trend to use recycled materials, I hope it is a trend that lasts to the end of time! Not like big hair or neon t-shirts!

Make Pretty Happen!

New Flooring

After talking to multiple flooring experts, contractors, craftsmen etc., I have concluded simply one thing:

Hardwood flooring is hardwood flooring. While there are a multitude of different woods, and there are a number grades of quality, if you go with a nice quality it actually doesn’t much matter if it is engineered or conventional hardwood.

In fact, one of the kitchen experts I spoke to insists engineered is the way to go because it is more durable in that the finish is usually “fired on” or “baked on”, so it is a harder finish which means it will wear better.

So, what is “engineered flooring”? It is  several layers of wood glued and laminated together to form a wood plank. They range in thickness from 1/4″ to just over a half inch. One of the great things about engineered floors is that it can  be installed almost anywhere, including over concrete, and doesn’t require the plywood or other flex layer that traditional hardwood requires.

It is even suitable for kitchens and comes in beautiful finishes.

Another plus is that there are no harsh chemicals used inside the home to seal the flooring because it is pre-finished outside the home! The glue can be stinky that they use to adhere it though!

I would love some questions about finishes, grades of wood, types of wood, etc!

Make Pretty Happen!