New Green Reno

Whether you're building a new home, creating an addition or just throwing together some shelving, there are a host of products to discuss with your contractor or pick up on your own. Here are some of the major items you may need.

Solid Wood Lumber: FSC and Reclaimed

The overwhelming majority of the all the world's logging operations are not certified by an accredited third party to insure responsible forestry. However, the last three years have seen a stunning increase in the number certificates granted by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) to products from well-managed forests, especially in Europe and North America. Widely considered the gold standard of wood certification, FSC has certified more than 232,274,000 acres of tropical, temperate and boreal forest worldwide, almost double the acreage it had covered just two years before. In fact, FSC may have grown too quickly: in late 2007 it had to rescind certification from some suppliers and strengthen regulations to ensure its standards were being met.

How does such remarkable growth translate in the green building materials market? Although more certified wood products are available, these products are rarely labeled, leaving consumers unaware of better options. Smaller green building stores like Green Depot, Eco-Lumber Co-Op and the Ecohaus, however, are becoming more common and offer a full range of FSC-certified and reclaimed wood products. Similar products are available at many local lumber yards and specialty wood stores.

Your best choice for lumber is FSC-certified, which includes a verifiable chain of custody documenting the process from harvesting to milling. Where FSC is not available, talk to your local lumberyards to see if environmental factors are considered in their sourcing. Reclaimed wood (wood salvaged from barns, factories or other locations) is another good option and many varieties are available from Endura Wood Products (www.endurawood.com).

To find FSC-certified products in your area, see the Forest Certification Resource Center.

Engineered Wood Products

Engineered Wood Products (EWPs) include plywood, strand board, composite wood paneling, laminated veneer lumber and many structural products like I-joists and trusses. They have both environmental and structural advantages over solid wood. Composed of wood chips and adhesive, they can be made from scrap or recycled wood material, lowering the demand for whole trees, a major factor in forest depletion. Generally, EWPs are stronger than solid wood with fewer compositional variations, making them more stable and consequently less prone to warping.

Federal green building guidelines specify two main criteria distinguishing green EWPs from conventional EWPs. The first applies to all wood products. They must be certified by a third party verifier such as FSC, guaranteeing responsible forestry and a transparent chain of custody. Secondly, the adhesive used must not contain urea-formaldehyde or other volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Unusually, affordable products are available that counter both the health and environmental risks of conventional EWPs. Watch out for uncertified, imported products manufactured from whole trees, as well as any use urea-, phenol- or melamine-formaldehyde resins.

Plywood often puts builders in a bind—a number FSC-certified products exist but these contain formaldehyde-bearing adhesives. Alternatively, formaldehyde-free products made from conventional wood are also available. Those that meet both requirements are used for interior work (see Cabinetry).

• iLevel TimberStrand LSL (laminated strand) studs, headers and rimboard (www.ilevel.com)
• Innovative Wood Concepts Engineered Finger-Joint Framing Studs (435-674-4555)