It’s the last month of 2016 and we continue to bring exciting news and new products to all of our facilities. Each one has something very amazing to share that will bring a wider variety and faster order processing for our customer’s benefit.
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We have some very exciting news to share with you! We’ve just obtained FSC® certification for our Brazilian mill, and our remaining U.S. locations in Sarasota, FL, Buffalo, NY, and Los Angeles, CA. These locations join Grover, NC, which has been FSC® certified for many years.
For over two decades, we’ve been committed to bringing our customers sustainably harvested decking from responsibly managed forests. Having all five of our locations FSC® certified only strengthens this promise. Although we’ve been heavily involved in the decking supply chain, it was imperative for us to open our Brazilian mill so that we’d have complete and total control over every aspect of the process. We can ensure that all harvesting is done sustainably while maintaining a consistently high level of quality.
Thanks to all our efforts, we can provide our customers with FSC® material at a lower cost since there’s no middle man and no broker. All FSC® certified decking will come directly from our Brazil mill to one of our U.S. locations, and finally to your home or jobsite.
Southern California is a hot spot for development and modern architecture. Trends have been changing since the recovery from the 2008 recession; housing and industrial construction has been on the rise. Decon Group has been at the forefront of many projects within the Los Angeles county area. They have incorporated modern designs into many remodels and new structures that fit the aesthetics of the neighborhoods they are situated in.
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Covered with unique patterns, Ambrosia Maple is the perfect wood for anyone who seeks a one of a kind wood.
Ambrosia Maple is a highly coveted wood for many projects because of its very unique and colored patterns. A lot of people often wonder if Ambrosia Maple is a specific species of wood, or if some sort of chemicals were added to give it the interesting patterns. The truth is that Ambrosia maple isn’t a different species, its regular soft maple that has had small beetles called ambrosia beetles nesting in it which carry a certain type of fungus for food.
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When it comes time to purchasing decking material, you need to make sure that you buy from a company with a commitment to sustainable forestry. AdvantageLumber.com is fortunate to be one of those companies that are authorized by the Rainforest Alliance™ to sell FSC® certified decking.
A Tigerwood deck highlights how wood decking is beautiful, versatile, & eco-friendly.
These days, being green and using eco-friendly products is more than a trend. Our whole economy is starting to recognize and value materials and items that have been manufactured and/or promote a healthy, green, and eco-savvy lifestyle. Even the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has shown us that there can be a heavy price to pay when we rely too much on environmentally problematic and damaging resources and materials.
What does this have to do with wood decking?
Well, there is a huge marketing push led by composite decking companies to cast all wood decking as non-eco-friendly. These companies want you to believe that all wood decking comes from illegal logging and that it decimates the world’s forests. Here’s the truth, as an FSC certified lumber supplier, the wood decking that we sell here at Advantage comes from eco-friendly forestry practices.
Here are 5 things you need to know about Green Decking: Continue reading
Yesterday, you saw the beginning stages of a green building project designed by Danny Forster, host of Build it Bigger & Extreme Engineering on the Discovery Channel. The finished Omena Lake front home is truly spectacular. Two features that are of particular interest are the extended deck / living room area and the eco-roof. In fact, Danny even shows you how eco-roofing is installed. I have to say, I learned a lot about green building and design from Danny. When he explains how they analyzed the wind patterns of the area to position the home in such a way that wind would keep the home cool throughout the day, I was blown away (pun very much intended)!
Here’s Danny giving you an extended tour of the newly completed Green home:
I was also thankful that Danny gave such a clear and concise description of how eco-friendly wood is cultivated and harvested. This is important to note because according to Danny, he used certified FSC wood throughout the home. So, all of the ipe decking you see comes from sustainable forestry practices that have been monitored by the Forest Stewardship Council.
Why did he use FSC Ipe Decking? If you recall, Danny is trying to get as high of a LEED rating as possible. In fact, because of all of the brilliant designs ideas and the eco-friendly products that he used, Danny has told me that the home received LEED Gold status. That’s pretty significant because this home is only one of seven in all of Michigan to receive that level of LEED certification.
We hope that this home inspires you to use green building materials and techniques. Finally, for those that think that green building is expensive, think again. Danny specifically makes the point that building this green home, even with all of its features and eco-friendly wood and materials, cost the same as any home in the area.
Also, thanks to Danny Forster for taking the time to answer my emails and for the information he provided.
