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? more…

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. more…

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? more…

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: more…

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: more…

Removing a Wolf Tree from a Forest is eco-friendly and promotes growth. The removal of these trees helps define Sustainable Forestry.

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 a picture they saw of a felled tree on one of our marketing pieces. Our response was not to ignore this person.  Below is the response that our CEO sent that dealt directly with this person’s concerns.

“Our industry, like any other, does have some bad players. But let me explain why my company is taking the lead in being a part of the solution, not the problem.   I understand your concerns but let me assure you that the tree in question was selected by a Forest Engineer because it no longer produced seed, such a tree is known as a wolf tree. A wolf tree is a tree that literally dominates its immediate surroundings and, because of its advanced age, can no longer reproduce seeds.  Contrary to ill-informed and, sadly, popular assumptions, a tree of this status is, in fact, not healthy to a forest. These excessively large trees starves smaller trees of light.  You will see in future publications of our newsletters how these trees decay from the inside out and become hollow.  This is a perfect tree to cut as it is dying from the inside out but is caught at the right time to still yield a lot of usable lumber.

Moreover, a full 30 year management plan was instituted for the patch of land and certified by the Brazilian government agency IBAMA. This agency ensures only trees that are removed are a benefit to the forest. They allow only a few trees per acre to be cut. They also develop plans to allow the improvement of less abundant struggling species which are sun starved under the canopy of wolf trees.  It is one of the best sustainable forest plans that I have seen. They are so meticulous in their planning that they even plan the direction the tree will fall when cut so as to minimize damage to smaller trees and to minimize extraction damage.  Replanting of various species in other areas in a 5 to 1 ratio is also implemented.

Proper forest management improves the life and value of a forest when done correctly.   I would be happy to speak to you about any doubts you have on our forest management practices, as it is something we take great pride in.   Many steps are taken to ensure a positive effect on the forest; for instance unlike any other operation only 10 trees are skidded on any path out of the forest.  This ensures quick regrowth on the logging path of new trees and undergrowth. Unlike other operations do not take these measures, our skidding paths are nearly impossible to see after 3 to 6 months.   The methods that we employ cost a substantial amount to implement and are anything but profit driven.   The felling of these wolf trees improves the future of the forest, improves the diversity of the forest by allowing younger trees of various species to grow that where struggling around it, and provides the native people in a struggling area with food, as well as many other benefits.

These kinds of sustainable forestry projects is being used by the Brazilian government as a example to other forest management sites and to implement new standards.”

Recently the Brazilian government has highlighted that these methods have led to a significant drop in deforestation. In fact, sustainable forestry has led to the Biggest Drop in Deforestation in 20 years.

With these facts in mind, it’s important that people realize that companies like Advantage Trim & Lumber and organizations like the Forest Stewardship Council are working closely to ensure the health and long term sustainability of the rain forest.

With a full inventory of FSC wood available, Advantage Trim & Lumber will continue to lead the way as one of the world’s leading suppliers of eco-friendly wood.

Who says the US Government can’t do anything right?

Recently, the United States Postal Service unveiled its new Green Roof for one of its major mail processing facilities. As a New York City native, I can tell you that the building in question is H-U-G-E. This building is so big, that when they decided to promote eco-friendly products as well as promoting energy efficiency, they were creating the largest green roof in all of New York City.

What makes this green building project even worth mentioning? Well, if you haven’t guessed by now, they used ipe wood as part of the green roof project! What’s even better is that they chose FSC ipe!

Once again, this proves that ipe wood is fast becoming a standard hardwood when it comes to green building projects and eco-friendly construction. I’m happy about this because in a tough city like New York, it’s great that they chose the toughest wood possible for such a wonderful project.