Corey’s Green Home Project: The Floors (part #2)
by Corey
Trees are historians. As kids we learn to uncover the age of a fallen tree or stump by counting its rings. Some living trees are more than 4,000 years old. California’s “Methuselah” is 4,843 years old. In Sweden, “Old Tjikko,” a 9,550 year old Norway Spruce, is the oldest-known living “clonal” tree in the world.
I find it fascinating to consider the history of the floors we chose for our home (US-sourced, river-recovered and reclaimed): where they came from, what was going on in the world as they grew from seedling to towering tree, when they were felled, how long they sat at the bottom of the river, and how they were recovered and turned into the planks that now line my floors. This history is now a part of my own history (not that is was ever really separate), and I can’t help but imagine what’s next for my floor’s history as it lives on with my family.
Goodwin Heart Pine created this visual timeline of the river-recovered trees that become their flooring. I thought it was pretty neat, and have a hunch you might too:
Why river-recovered?
In my last post, I talked about why carpet just wouldn’t work for us, what we did with the brand-new carpet that covered nearly every square inch of the home (yes, even the bathroom), and why all families, but especially those with asthmatic kids (or parents) may want to consider alternatives to carpet.
I went on and on about how much I like Carol and Dave Goodwin (owners of the company from which we purchased our floors) and promised that I would talk some more about wood that’s river-recovered.
I’ll break it down for you:
What does river-recovered mean?
River-recovered wood has been pulled from river-beds.
How did it get there?
In the 1800′s when trees in American forests were being cut down to accommodate our country’s rapid growth, the newly cut logs were often transported down rivers to mills, where they were cut into lumber. A good number of those very trees never made it to the mills - they sank, and there they have remained for 100 years.
Thirty-five years ago, Goodwin Heart Pine began the process of reclaiming this wood and turning it into flooring and furniture.
What’s so special about river-recovered?
Deprived of oxygen for so long, river-recovered wood is more durable and beautiful than virgin-cut wood. The colors are more vibrant. This, of course, is in addition to the fact that choosing river-recovered over conventional wood floors means forests remain intact. And since less than 10,000 acres of American old-growth heart pine remains where nearly 90-million acres once stood, I’d say preserving trees in our country (and beyond) by buying recovered and reclaimed is a darn good thing.
(And it seems Ted Turner, Paul McCartney, Bob Vila, Oprah and more agree. They chose Goodwin floors too!)
Want to know more about river-recovered hardwood flooring?
Here’s more on why river-recovered (and reclaimed) is the preferred “green” choice and how Goodwin Heart Pine takes “sustainable” many steps further (such as by helping to create industry standards for ensuring that river ecology and animal habitats are protected during log recovery).
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And speaking of trees…Check out this list of the 10 Most Magnificent Trees in the world.
Follow Corey’s journey to updating her home with the health of the planet, her family and wallet in mind. Stay tuned for more of Corey’s Green Home Project. (Missed previous posts? Click here.)
Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are mother and daughter and authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, and founders of Green Halloween®.
(Stay tuned for “Corey’s Green Home Project: The Floors Part #3, coming up soon…)
