Eco-friendly wood

How “Green” is Sustainable Forestry? Is Wood Decking BAD for the Environment?

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One of the marketing tricks spread by synthetic decking companies is that real wood decking is bad for the environment and the overall world economy. They say that their products don’t require trees to be cut down, therefore their products are “green.” They try to profess that because their products are recycled that their decking …

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The Lacey Act – What it means for you? Why it’s a good thing for all of us.

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Eco-friendly wood
Advantage Trim & Lumber promotes the Lacey Act through responsible forestry.

What is the Lacey Act?

Signed into law in the year 1900, the Lacey Act is a century old United States law that makes it a federal crime to buy, sell, or trade any wildlife or plants that were procured and transported by illegal means. This includes the import and exporting of both domestic and exotic lumber. For the lumber industry during that time, The Lacey Act was a wake up call. Conduct business in a responsible manner that doesn’t destroy the very resource you depend on, or face a federal court. While the battle still rages on against illegal logging across the world, it is companies like Advantage Trim & Lumber that are leading the way when it comes to sustainable forestry.

What does the Lacey Act mean for you?

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Tigerwood Decking in San Francisco, CA

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Decking in California
This Tigerwood deck will be an attractive place for patrons to sit, eat, and relax.

Why is Tigerwood a great decking option for California homes and businesses?

For starters, Tigerwood is instantly attractive. Many of our customers in California have told us that they enjoy working with such an easy material because it cuts labor costs and install time. We’ve even had customers call us to say that the second their commercial project was completed they saw an immediate increase in business thanks to more walk in traffic and customer interest.

It’s not hard to imagine people walking by this pizza parlor in San Francisco and staring at it.  With those rich colors of rusty oranges, brown, and dark black streaks you would only need one attempt to guess this wood’s name. From California to New York, you can find more and more outside commercial projects using exotic  and eco-friendly decking materials like Tigerwood.

Looks aside, there are some very practical reasons why Tigerwood is a great choice for commercial applications.

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Tigerwood Decking – Durability with Smoking Hot Good Looks

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tigerwood-deck
Tigerwood creates an outdoor space you'll want to show off.

Let’s be honest. That is one awesome looking deck. We get pictures like the one above from satisfied homeowners every day. The people who send us these pics tell us that after they installed the Tigerwood decking they bought from Advantage that neighbors who never even said so much as a “Hello” all of a sudden say things like, “Wow. What kind of wood is that!?” and “That is one nice looking deck. Great job on the build!” The rusty browns and black mottled streaks of Tigerwood create a space you won’t want to step away from. It’s density also gives it properties that make it last well over 25 years. Mold and decay resistance give you exceptional structural integrity. For kids, the fact that Tigerwood is really hard to scratch or splinter means that bare feet will be safe. Oh, and when it rains? Tigerwood dries fast and thanks to reliable slip resistance. Oh, and those looks!

Why settle for the decking that advertises that says it “looks just like” something when you can have the real thing?

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What Makes our Hardwood Eco-Friendly?

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It’s not enough to say that you’re product is eco-friendly. People want, and deserve, proof. However, it is getting harder for all of us to cut through the marketing hype to see products for what they really are, not what you are told they are. So….with that said, what does that have to do with decking?

We received a phone call the other day from someone who was fed lies. They were told by someone trying to sell them thousands of dollars in composite decking that “anyone who buys hardwood decking from countries like Brazil are helping kill off the rain forest. ” This person was shopping around and asked us point blank, “How can I be sure that the hardwood you sell is really eco-friendly?”

At Advantage, we LOVE getting questions like this. Here’s our response:

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Top 5 Reasons Why Wood Patios are Naturally Beautiful & Dependable

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Wood Patio
This wood patio made of ipe decking will last well over 100 years.

When you spend money to renovate and improve your home’s exterior by building a patio, what is on your short list of needs?

  1. A dependable patio building material?
  2. An eco-friendly wood?
  3. Wood that you won’t have to replace every few years?
  4. How about something that looks really, really good?
  5. Choosing the best wood patio material at the best price?

Those are pretty reasonable requests. There are many wood and composite patio materials in the market which say that they answer all those questions. However, since you’ve done your research, you already know that composite materials have way too many issues (let alone recalls) to even be a viable choice. This leaves solid hard wood decking. As a patio material a patio made of hardwood is going to provide you with:

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Sustainable Forestry – How The Wolf Tree Plays a Role

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There are a lot of bad actors in the lumber industry. However, to lump in every lumber company as a villain of the Earth is both unsubstantiated and very misinformed. Case in point, we recently received a letter from someone who insisted that we were not an eco-friendly lumber company. This person was concerned about …

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