One Catastrophe Helps Another

Every once in a while our jobs here get a lot more meaningful.
A gentleman brought in our last load of lumber for the Greensburg, KS High School project this weekend. The bulk of this lumber was reclaimed from Hurricane Katrina and it seems only appropriate that it be re purposed on the Greensberg High School.
This has been a large and gratifying job to do. It has enabled us to become part of the process of helping Greensburg heal from the tornado that all but took it off the map.
The people of Greensburg are some resourceful, smart scrappers though, and their determination to rebuild their town and be kind to the future has brought them global attention.
Everyone we have worked with on this project has shown a keen understanding of the words "sustainable" and "local economies." This makes our work here so much easier. It's hard to "teach" those qualities.
The serendipity of one catastrophe serving another is not lost on anyone in the food chain on this job. It would be nice if this showed a shift in our collective consciousness. Imagine the impact of using our local and organic resources to the best of our abilities.
It's not easy, cheap or fast. It's none of those things. However, this project has grown into itself and proven that anything worth having is worth working hard for.
Just like your grandma said.
Build on.
copyright2009

Personally Green & Responsible

It should come as no real surprise that the Green Movement has generated just about equal parts good and bad. I know - it's hard to even think about calling (even a small part of) the Green Movement "bad," but it's the nature of the beast.

This is inherent in any idea or movement that gains a lot of momentum in a relatively short amount of time - there are always going to be opportunists who seize moments to turn a quick buck.

Here at Wood Haven, we get at least a handful of "Professional Certification" emails every day.

They promise to take you in on a Friday and spit you out on a Sunday with your LEED certification in hand. They're like barkers at a county fair, only you get a certificate guaranteed to stimulate your personal economy instead of a Chinese-made bear with uneven eyes. (Nothing against the Chinese Made Bear industry.)

This trend points to a theory that has circulated for a long time now and is gaining popularity: We are an instant gratification nation. We want our everything and we want it now. The No Pain No Gainers are diminishing in numbers and that imbalance is evident in the Green Movement just like everywhere else.

A certificate gained in a weekend does not prove that you understand the principles of Sustainable Design. A lifetime of commitment and understanding goes behind that, and it's worth every bit of the discipline and responsibility necessary to live it - not just have it.

Perhaps it's time for the country to adopt a National Initiative to require personal and universal responsibility from all American citizens. If we started with the youngest of us now, by the time they are in charge of this mess they could be capable of making responsible, meaningful and thoughtful decisions.

The opportunists will always be a part of the dance, but they could lose ground if we all quit looking for a quick fix and a fast buck.

Let there be no doubt: We desperately need to be a more sustainable people. We just need to do it from a place that is motivated by information and reward. And, we have a responsibility to do what we can to make this an organic and authentic response in the next generation.

Do get your LEED certification, it's a great idea. And, do get the next level of Green Certification that will inevitably follow LEED. But, don't just phone it in - work it full time to live it in every possible way.

Lean Green Building Machines

According to McGraw Hill news services, green building construction starts have more than quadrupled from 2005-2008 (an increase of between $36 and $49 billion dollars.) That number is expected to triple by 2013 and represent between $96 and $140 billion dollars.
The increased awareness and specified usage of green building materials can be attributed to equal parts growing public awareness and increased government intervention. This fortituous combo is yielding some amazing sales numbers for us here at Woodhaven and we are very much looking forward to watching the growth over the next several years.
According to Green Market Outlook 2009, "Green seems to be one area of construction insulated by the downturn, an we expect green building to continue to grow over the next five years despite negative market conditions."
To that end, we remain more convinced than ever that we are doing the right thing, for the right reasons with the right products. Our Deck Clips and Rainscreen Clip systems are environmentally sound, aesthetically pleasing and (fortunately for us) the only viable options available on the market today.
If you are ready to make the committment to build Green give us a call - we'll let you know how we can help you develop a Green Bulding plan.

WOOD IS THE NEW GREENISH

WOOD, oh wood. Contrary to popular belief, we are not running out of forests and trees. Our American forests have experienced more growth than decline since the 1940s - we have more forests now than we did in 1920. Wood is the most plentiful renewable resource in the world and is the only building product that is renewable, energy efficient, biodegradable, recyclable, and extremely beautiful.
Harvested and milled timber continues to store the carbon in the wood for the life of the product. When more trees are planted, more carbon is taken out of the atmosphere. Using wood products precludes the use of fossil-fuel intensive alternatives like steel and concrete. Actively managed forests that utilize growing trees to produce forest products can play a huge role in the reduction of atmospheric carbon.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an adopted standard to assess environmental impact of a product, process or activity on the environment over its lifetime. LCA assessment includes extraction, manufacturing, transportation, installation, use, maintenance, disposal or re-usage.
In terms of releasing of pollutants into the air and water, emmission of greenhouse gases and phenomenal outlays of embodied energy in production, wood out-performs steel and concrete in ways we haven't even begun to measure.
TOP THREE REASONS TO USE WOOD OVER ALL ELSE IN CONSTRUCTION:
1. Wood products continue to store the carbon sequestered by trees. When trees are converted into wood products most of the sequestered carbon is contained in those products indefinitely-keeping it out of the atmosphere.
2. LCA studies show that wood has a substantially smaller carbon footprint than other building materials. Most notable is the significant volume of greenhouse gas emissions avoided by substituting wood products for concrete and steel - both strong contributors in high amounts of CO2 emissions. )
3. After decades or even centuries of use, wood buildings can be easily adapted or deconstructed and reused, which means they can continue to store carbon indefinitely.

A 2009 study conducted by CORRIM compared four different structures using different wall systems – two woods, one concrete and one steel. The report found that the steel wall system generated 33% more greenhouses gases than wood and the concrete wall generated 80% more greenhouse gases than wood. The study also reported that the wood structures out-performed the steel and concrete houses in energy use and the impact on air and water quality. The global warming footprint of the steel-frame house was also 26 per cent higher and the concrete-frame house 31 per cent higher than the homes framed in wood.

Everybody needs a map to navigate by, right?
We have successfully managed to avoid maps for the last 26 years.
Today we decided to try one out. What follows is our Mission Statement.

To engineer, produce and distribute the finest quality home construction products in ways that emphasize our commitment to sustainability, affordability and attention to detail. We are a TBL (Triple bottom line) company promoting business practices that demonstrate respect for the earth, its inhabitants and the environment.
We strive to provide systems and products that surpass customer expectations, yield cost savings and allow for easy installation.
We encourage the people working with us to become critical thinkers in terms of mitigating the environmental impact of traditional business practices. With emphasis on meeting the needs of people now, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
We work with suppliers who ensure that our global forests remain sustainable biological systems while providing quality building material and fiber for generations to come. We are an active participant in the practices of designing buildings in harmony with the natural features and resources present.

Wood Haven, Inc. Talking Cumaru

So glad you could make it by.

We are Wood Haven, Inc. located in the scenic northeast hills of Kansas in the town of Perry.
We are a manufacturer and supplier to the green building industry. We've been in the wood business for roughly 26 years and have spent the last six of those years developing products to promote environmentally responsible ways to build commercial and residential structures.
If you've heard of or used The Deck Clip™ or The Rainscreen Clip™ then half our battle is won. We have engineered, manufactured and sold those products to many builders, developers and architects for a few years now.
In addition to those systems, we are a one-stop source for sustainably harvested South American hardwoods and much of the re-claimed woods harvested in North America (think Katrina.) Cumaru is one of the woods we sell a lot of and not everybody knows much about.
The wood we sell comes to us from Brazil, and is one of our top sellers. If you’ve ever been to the Atlantic City Boardwalk you’ve seen Cumaru.
Cumaru is the wood of choice when longevity, economy and aesthetics are paramount concerns. One of the primary attractions to choosing Cumaru for outdoor applications is its extreme density. It is not only beautiful, but has a steel-like composition as well. Certified ratings of Cumaru measure it as one of the most durable hardwoods of all hardwoods (five times harder than cedar - ten times stronger than composites.) This strength and density makes it one of the more moisture resistant woods available.
Cumaru is as maintenance-free as wood gets - No sealers are required due to density as well as the oils inherent in the wood. With age, Cumaru will turn to a soft silvery-gray. This aging process doesn’t compromise the strength of the wood, just the color. If you haven’t had the opportunity to work with or recommend this wood for a job, drop us a line, we can tell you even more about it and shoot you some prices. If you have already worked with it and we’re preaching to the choir – Give us a call, I’ll bet we can provide you some solid pricing, quality product and quick turn-around.