Is it better to use wood that is readily available than spending time, energy, shipping and gas looking for either reclaimed or FSC certified wood?
I have 4 Hardware/Lumberyards within 7 miles from my house. In searching for baseboards and plywood, none of them stocked FSC wood. Searching on Craigslist and Freecycle, any available reclaimed was the wrong size or they were just too far away to go and get.
The Breakdown:
- Cut and Dried Hardware: Has to order FSC wood
- Dixieline: Didn’t know what FSC wood was.
- Ace Hardware- Didn’t check them as they don’t stock much in the store.
- Home Depot- Has Eco Options available in baseboard, but they were out of stock. No FSC plywood in stock. Employees didn’t know what FSC was.
I ended up buying some of my baseboard at Dixieline because they were the only ones that stocked the product. Home Depot finally got the Eco-Options back in stock, so I ordered 12 Ft from them. The Eco Options is a tad off from the MDF, but it would work, as it was going into closets.
Pricing;
- Dixieline- MDF baseboard $.77 a foot.
- Home Depot: MDF baseboard= $.84 a foot
- Home Depot: Eco Options baseboard= $1.34 a foot
The funny thing: Yesterday, after I already bought the plywood and painted the baseboard, Plywood for FREE came up on Craigslist right in my area.
Moral of the Story: Good things happen to those who have time and patience.
Wow – you RULE! Nice testimony. I especially like the part where Home Depot employees didn’t know about FSC wood. I thought the Eco Options program was better than that.
It’s pretty amazing with all the surge in ‘Green’ building, how little employees know in any store. Home Depot employees told me that Energy Star ceiling fans would work just as well as any fan. 3 Lighting and Fan stores didn’t even know what an EnergyStar Ceiling fan was. A Dixieline Employee told me that eco-friendly adhesives would probably not work.
When I asked Dixieline about FSC wood, they asked what it was. When I told them what it was, they said they get their wood from sustainable forests, but didn’t know if it was stamped FSC. Lowes didn’t know either, and nothing was stamped ‘eco.’ At least Home Depot has Eco Options labeled clearly.
As far as WaterSense labeled, neither, Lowes, Home Depot or Faucet Factory knew what that was, or even did!
Cut and Dried Hardware does carry Kirei board and other options, didn’t really investigate them and didn’t want to order FSC board, just wanted somebody to carry the product!