From Forest to Home 4 Facts About the Wood Manufacturing Process
For thousands of years, humanity has used wood for fuel, shelter, as tools, weapons, furniture and more. It has proven throughout our history to be one of the most useful and plentiful resources available on our planet. Even today, with the major advancements of plastics, steel and other materials readily available, wood has proven to be a tried and true valuable resource, still used constantly, from sheets of cherry lumber to flitch cut slabs of timber wood.
Many people around the world have made careers out of working with wood, in one way or another, along the long line that is the wood manufacturing process. In the United States alone, there are nearly 1 million workers in the forest products industry. If you’re working in one of these fields, aspiring to, or just have a general interest in the entire process, here are 8 facts that you may find interesting or helpful!
1. 94% of Homes are Built Using Wood Frames
It may be surprising, but it’s true! A huge portion of homes are still built using wood frames. It’s proven to be durable and long-lasting with proper maintenance, so why change a good thing? It is also far less expensive that many alternatives, such as steel. If you’re building a home, there’s little reason to use anything other than wood for your frame!
2. Looking to Get Into Custom Woodworking or Furniture Building? Look For Flitch Cut Slabs
Straight from lumber mills across the country, many lumber yards will carry flitch cut slabs. These slabs are large flat cuts of timber that feature the original wood and bark that’s remaining. It can be trimmed off or used as an aesthetic choice, but either way, these large flitch cut slabs will be an excellent choice for your next project.
3. Cement, Brick, Plastic, Aluminum and Glass Require 126x More Energy Than Wood to Produce
If you’re at all interested in attempting to curb climate change, wood is one of the most energy efficient resources we can use, assuming we plant and harvest responsibly. Looking to the future, wood seems to be an ideal choice as a replacement for many materials that are no longer going to be energy- and cost-effective.
4. In America, We Aren’t Doing A Bad Job With Re-Planting
Despite our abysmal record with many other things relating to energy conservation, according to the USDA Forest Service, the amount of hardwoods available in forests around the country has actually increased by 119% since back in 1953. If we can keep it up, and support planting around the world, we’ll be able to continue to rely on hardwood lumber as a fantastic resource moving forward into the future.
Are you working wood manufacturing industry, or one that regularly uses wood? How about just a hobbyist? Did you find these facts interesting or helpful? Anything you’d like to share in addition! Feel free to leave us comments down below, and have a great day!