SeeingGreen ™

UPDATE: This place has moved to St. Johns and is now called Rideout Reclamation.

If you have driven out to the coast recently, you may have noticed that you can see the forest through the trees. This is not due to some unexpected clarity of mind, but because the lumber giants have been at it again. Clearcutting, that is. And even if you don’t know a lick about forestry, conservation practices or economics, you probably know that clearing large swaths of land of its ecology is not only bad for the environment, stupid - but does not make for a pretty picture.

Now consider salvage, the practice of disassembling buildings to maximize the potential for material reuse. Reusing salvaged materials preserves natural resources, saves money, creates economic opportunities (jobs, businesses) and offers a distinct aesthetic to any building project. On N. Mississippi Ave. alone there are restaurants (Gravy, former Blue Sky Cafe), bars (Crow Bar) and boutiques (Flutter) that use old as a foundation for new.

Now there’s a new source for finding salvaged lumber and wood flooring. Historic Timber Supply is like most lumberyards, stocked aplenty with piles of rough hewn Doug Fir beams and tall sticks of wood trim. The difference here is that all this material is reclaimed from demolition projects around the state. The company also imports tropical hardwood salvage from around the world (remember to Count Your Carbons!). You won’t find wicked good deals here like you will at The ReBuilding Center, but that’s OK. If you are going to build with wood and if you were to calculate the real price of lumber (energy inputs + social, physical and natural externalities), using salvage is clearly going to save you green.

Call (971) 404-6253 for more details and to find their new location.