Bundles of FSC Ipe Decking

What is FSC?

The Forest Stewardship Council is the world’s foremost and internationally recognized forest certification. The Forest Stewardship Council ensures forests around the world remain vibrant and healthy  by  rigorously monitoring forest operations to ensure sustainable lumber harvesting.

FSC forest trees are individually selected for cutting and then replanted in bio-diverse manner in order to maintain the health and longevity of the forests.

What does it mean to be FSC certified?

By being FSC certified, AdvantageLumber.com demonstrates its solid commitment to responsible forest management practices that protect and enhance the diverse ecosystem of the forest land. By purchasing products with this certification, you are guaranteed that the wood comes from forest land that is managed in a manner that is environmentally and socially responsible.

Why would you want to use FSC certified wood products?

You’ve probably noticed the FSC logo on catalogs, books, and other paper and wood based products. Responsible and well-educated homeowners lead the way in asking for environmentally friendly products. Like all the wood we sell, the lines of AdvantageLumber.com FSC decking are responsibly harvested from managed forests. By taking a friendly approach to the way we live and work ; we protect our planet for our generations to come. Wildlife, soil, non harvested plants are all protected and will flourish sustainable harvested forests.

If you’re interested in purchasing sustainable decking, contact AdvantageLumber.com today at 1-877-232-3915. NOTE: FSC wood decking is often more scarce than our normal inventory of sustainable hardwoods.

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?

You can rest assured that the decking, lumber, or flooring you purchase has been thoroughly sourced. By doing our due diligence, we can guarantee that the lumber you buy complies with all international and national trade laws. As a FSC wood and lumber supplier, we continually perform our due diligence and have a crystal clear record of compliance.

Why the Lacey Act is a good thing for all of us?

When previously discussing what makes our inventory of eco-friendly hardwood dependable, the topic of “worth” came up. Again, it bears repeating here as well. It makes ZERO economic sense for lumber companies to destroy the forests. Even the most reputable environmental organizations from Greenpeace to the Sierra Club have said time and again that there is a place for responsible and sustainable forestry practices. These organizations realize a critical fact that has proven true in all cases. If you remove responsible forestry and logging from a forest, the local population must and will use that forest for other means. Whether they become soy, coconut, banana, coffee, or palm oil farmers, or cattle ranchers, the result is the same. The deforestation of natural forest for the production of some other agricultural good. Check out this report from Monagabay. Notice how, when you break down the sources of deforestation in the Amazon Cattle ranches account for 65-70%, and cumulative small and large scale agriculture account for approximately 25%. Logging (legal and illegal)? Just 2-3% (and declining!).

Pardon the cliche. But the proof is in the pudding. Those statistics clearly show that when you have a healthy and vibrant lumber industry that embraces these kinds of regulations, the overall effect is a positive one that gives you peace of mind, and the ability to use lumber that has been responsible cultivated, harvested, and shipped. I think we can all agree, the alternative is something that should be avoided at all costs.

Want more info? Check out the links below. Have a comment? Drop us a line in the comments section. We’d love to hear from you.

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:

1. Species like Tigerwood, Garapa, Cumaru, and Ipe are renewable resources. With the growing number of managed forests and with the LACEY Act in place, you can find many green decking options that come from sustainable forestry methods.
2. Composite decking is not as eco-friendly, or as dependable as advertised. In fact, because it originates from oil-based plastics and can’t be recycled, you can disqualify plastic decking from the list of eco-friendly products.
3. FSC wood decking is available and can help you gain LEED certification credits. However, FSC certified decking shouldn’t be the be-all-end-all of green decking options. Just because FSC decking is more expensive, doesn’t mean that you’ll get superior boards. So, be careful about buying certified FSC wood just based on the label. Make sure you get Premium/Clear grade material. When you buy decking from Advantage, you will be purchasing decking material that comes from the same areas and are harvested using the exact same FSC standards.
4. Not all green decking is expensive. Unfortunately, many eco-friendly wood products jack up their prices just because they put the green label on their products. Let’s be clear, Tigerwood decking and other hardwood species were just as green and 100% free of chemical additives years ago. These days, we’re just paying attention and valuing the inherent qualities that make these wood decking products “green.”
5. When you strip away all the hype you’ll find that wood decking, especially the exotic hardwoods, are eco-friendly from a purely practical perspective. They last for decades, don’t require chemicals to resist decay and insects, are a renewable resource, don’t emit gasses or contain toxins (like formaldehyde or dioxin), were harvested using sustainable forestry methods, and will not have to be replaced. When you’re long gone from your home, you can also rest assured that the decking is 100% biodegradable.

These benefits mean that you can buy and build a green deck with confidence knowing that your purchase is an environmentally sound one that won’t negatively impact the environment.

If you have questions, or find this information of interest, share it with your network, and leave us a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

FSC Certified Wood is available.

One of the nice things about being the leading importer of exotic hardwoods is that we are able to adequately provide wood that is FSC certified to the marketplace.

Our high standing with the most reputable mills in Brazil means that we provide the best FSC wood at very competitive prices.

With our Chain of Custody FSC Certification, Advantage is in a unique position to monitor and track the process. From start to finish, when you order FSC Cumaru, Garapa, Tigerwood, or any other exotic hardwood, you can rest assured that you’ll receive the best quality FSC material.

If you’re looking to accumulate MRc7 and MRc5 LEED points, we’ll also provide our FSC certificate for faster processing through the USGBC.

Contact us today to get a custom quote on certified FSC lumber:

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.

According to the Healthy Building Network’s report on PVC in Buildings, “PVC is the worst plastic from an environmental health perspective, posing major hazards in its manufacture, product life, and disposal.”

That’s not some sales guy talking here. The HBN is making this statement because of a chemical used in PVC and vinyl decking called Dioxin. The HBN goes on to say that “Dioxin (the most potent carcinogen known), ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride are unavoidably created in the production of PVC and can cause severe health problems including:

• Cancer
• Endocrine disruption
• Endometriosis
• Neurological damage
• Birth defects & impaired child development
• Reproductive and immune system damage”

Wow…

Why PVC decking isn’t illegal is beyond me. Once you read the report, I’m sure you’ll agree with me. The fact that there are companies out there that are actually selling vinyl decking leaves me scratching my head. After reading that report and all the science backing it up, why would anyone use that stuff?

As an alternative to building a vinyl deck, one recommendation that the HBN report made was to use FSC certified materials and sustainable wood.

Advantage sells FSC Certified Wood

At Advantage, we carry and sell FSC wood lines that include:

• FSC Ipe
• FSC Tigerwood
• FSC Garapa
• FSC Cumaru

Many more species can be obtained by contacting us. We also offer wholesale pricing for those who order a truckload or shipping container’s worth of any of our sustainable wood lines.

Read the Helthy Building Network report on PVC in Buildings.

While many people like to point the finger at lumber companies as the sole contributor to deforestation, there is a sobering fact that most people are unaware of:

Cattle ranching accounts for roughly 80% of the deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.

The market for beef, leather, and other goods has led to the rapid and systemic depletion of the rainforest in ways that the lumber industry can’t even touch. Another thing to consider is that with organizations such as the Forest Stewardship Council and many other environmental groups diligently watching the practices of lumber companies, there is a sustained effort to put back what is used. Basically, many lumber mills will replant tress that were cut down.

However, once acres of forest have been cut down for cattle ranching, that land is pretty much used for one thing and one thing only; cattle.

Yes, lumber companies need to be more responsible and diligent. However, the fact that the cattle industry and large corporations go unscathed for the most part in the public eye needs to change.

Advantage Trim & Lumber prides itself on the many ways we actually boost the forest’s production of trees. Our sustainable forestry practices include:

• Harvesting fallen and dead trees so that new trees can grow
• Havesting trees that no longer produce seeds
• Planting five new trees for every one that has been cut
• Selective logging

I recently came across a great article that discusses the impact that cattle ranching has had on the  Amazon. It’s a must read for anyone who wants to demonize the lumber industry as the sole perpetrator of deforestation.

At Advantage, we are the leader in promoting eco-friendly forestry practices and have a full inventory of certified FSC wood. We are members of the Forest Stewardship Council and the United States Green Building Council because we realize the importance of having a viable and sustainable forest. Below is an interactive video we created that shows the negative impact that cattle have had on the Amazon.

Visit our environmental policy page to learn more.

Deck Design of the Week

Green Home in Michigan

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:

MyNorth.com Video: Danny Forster’s Cool, Green House Completed

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.

Ipe decking is such a reliable, durable, and YES, renewable wood material that it is gaining increased notoriety throughout the world. In the United States, this exotic hardwood is being used in a variety of commercial applications. Local cities and municipalities that need commercial decking are even starting to use ipe in eco-friendly parks and bridges. In doing research I have found architects using ipe for both siding and sunscreens.

From hotels, to resorts, to restaurants, to office buildings, there are many commercial decking options available. By far, the one clear cut favorite among architects, designers, and business owners is ipe decking and Brazilian walnut flooring. The main reason for this is because commercial ipe can be both cultivated and harvested from environmentally safe and sound forestry practices. At Advantage Trim & Lumber, offer wholesale decking and are constantly shipping eco-friendly ipe to commercial building projects throughout the United States.

With green building gaining increasing popularity, we want to be sure that any commercial project purchased ipe lines that are legit. The ipe lumber that we sell at Advantage is cultivated and harvested from renewable and sustainable forestry practices. What does this mean? For every tree that is harvested, we plant five more. This policy ensures that the forest remains bountiful and healthy for generations to come. While there are companies out there that dupe consumers into buying their ipe just because they slap the word eco-friendly on top of it, you don’t have to worry about that with our ipe inventory. We are members of both the Forest Stewardship Council as well as the United States Green Building Council. In fact, we spell out our environmental policy on our website because we believe that in order to be a good steward of the earth, you must give back what you take. So, if you need a container of ipe decking, or FSC ipe, or some other type of FSC certified wood, you can count on us. Also, if you’re trying to gain LEED certification, we’ll also get you a copy of our FSC certification.

Deck Design of the Week

New York City High Line Park

New York City is constantly evolving. From the people to the architecture, New Yorkers are used to the constant changes that take place. As any New Yorker knows, there are a lot of places that can make the city seem brand new. One such place is the newly opened High Line Park. If there’s anything that New Yorkers know how to do is how to turn something ugly into something fun, exciting, and invigorating. The fact that people actually thought of turning an abandoned transit line into a park is nothing short of genius.

Below is a news report which will give you a walk through and explanation of the history and future of the NYC High Line Park. Why would I decide to highlight this park instead of a regular old deck? Well, for the past couple of days I’ve been looking to highlight commercial or very unique ways that people use ipe wood and ipe decking.

And, if you visit the area you’ll see that the designers of the NYC High Line Park used ipe for the benches, lounges, as well as a wonderful amphitheater.

Project managers who are interested in building with this material can count on Advantage. The ipe decking we sell comes from managed forests that use sustainable forestry practices. While there are other companies that try to say that their decking is eco-friendly, they don’t have the history and commitment to the environment that we do. For every tree that we use, we plant five more. We are also members of the United States Green Building Council as well as the Forest Stewardship Council. Simply put, we don’t just sell eco-friendly wood such as certified FSC Ipe, we actually practice what we preach.

There are many different LEED requirements that builders and architects can take advantage of. One particular credit is the MRc7 credit.

If a green building project uses a certain percentage of FSC wood, they can qualify for this LEED credit. If you want to qualify for this LEED credit, your project must have installed at least 50% of FSC wood. An exemplary performance Innovation in Design credit can be attained if you use 95% FSC certified wood.

There are many different kinds of FSC wood available including:

• FSC Ipe
• FSC Cumaru
• FSC Tigerwood
• FSC Garapa

The great thing about building green and LEED construction projects is that they are extremely creative. The green building revolution is certainly pushing the envelope when it comes to how hardwoods like ipe wood can be utilized. One such example that I recently found was the recently opened Eco Park in the Discovery Green Conservancy project in Houston, Texas. 60% of the wood used throughout the whole park used ipe hardwood. Using ipe hardwood helped the Discovery Green park project earn a Gold level LEED certification.

The designers and planners of Discovery Green chose ipe for the following reasons:

• Mold, mildew, and rot resistant
• Extremely strong & dense
• Insect resistant
• Requires very little maintenance

At Advantage Trim & Lumber, we can help you get your LEED Certification with our FSC lumber, FSC flooring, and FSC decking products. Since 1992, we have been the leader in establishing sustainable forestry practices that lead to the overall health of the environment. We are also members of the United States Green Building Council and the Forest Stewardship Council. Visit our main website to learn more.