We are shopping carpenters for built-in bookshelves and are realising that it’s harder than initially expected to be “green” and use salvaged wood. The Build It Green NYC warehouse doesn’t seem to have anything standard in sufficient quantity and one carpenter indicated that he could do it with 3″ thick wood, which is a bit on the heavy side.

Does anyone have suggestions on either where to look or what carpenter to speak to? Or should I suck it up and kill some trees?


Comments

  1. Reclaimed wood is not the only option. You can find wheatboard, and other alternative materials for building shelves. My company builds green, and we use a few types of wood made entirely of byproduct; and example is wheatboard, which is made of wheat stalks and is VERY strong and looks great.

  2. new owner and tsarina,
    I’m keeping my staves for a rainy day, however there are 2 ways to get a truck load. The simplest way is to find an Isseks Brothers or Rosenwach truck dismantling a tank and offer the guys $100 to fill your truck instead of their’s. Very happy to do so I have found or call Issek’s and ask if you can either pick up at their place on Broome or catch up with a job somewhere. Unless things have changed in the last year they have no market for most of it, but for the very best, and take it all to a landfill. Better to find the guys on the job however, better choice.