2012 Masonite West End Collection

After visiting this year's BMA show in Vegas we saw 

a lot of exciting products coming on the market for 2012. 

Our favorite has to be Masonite's New West End Collection. 

Available in a chocolate finish this door can pull off any metropolitan modern design without blowing the budget, . Available in 80" and 84" heights, these bold horizontal lines give this door a very sleek and eye catching design element to any room. Call Woodland for more details and availability at 215-727-5333. Doors can be manufactured for 20 min fire rated or environmentally friendly wheat straw board.

FSC Mixed vs 100% Pure

The truth about FSC.

What comes to mind when you hear FSC? Most of us are inclined to think that only trees from managed forests can receive this astute recognition and "green" seal of approval, however this really is not the case.

When the FSC organization began in 1993, that inclination was true. Only trees that came from managed forests were allowed to be part of the FSC chain of custody, or were 100% Pure FSC. Meaning the lumber could be traced from the end user to the the forest where the log originated. Because not every forest in the US is FSC certified and mills cannot buy their wood from only one or two companies, it takes incredible detail to maintain an inventory of hundreds of thousands pieces of wood that essential look exactly the same. So.....they came up with the "Mix" certification title.

Now, to clarify, the wood that is non-fsc has to pass the following criteria:

PRINCIPLE #1: COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS AND FSC PRINCIPLES
PRINCIPLE #2: TENURE AND USE RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
PRINCIPLE #3: INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
PRINCIPLE #4: COMMUNITY RELATIONS AND WORKER’S RIGHTS
PRINCIPLE #5: BENEFITS FROM THE FOREST
PRINCIPLE #6: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
PRINCIPLE #7: MANAGEMENT PLAN
PRINCIPLE #8: MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT
PRINCIPLE #9: MAINTENANCE OF HIGH CONSERVATION VALUE FORESTS
PRINCIPLE #10: PLANTATIONS
(Source: http://www.fscus.org/standards_criteria)

As long as it passes the 10 criteria it can then be mixed with FSC material. So you may order 10 pieces of 2x4x8 FSC Lumber. Your receipt will say "FSC Mix" it also maybe followed by a percentage. Every mix has a percentage, because the mill knows how many FSC vs Non FSC pieces (or credits) they have in stock, and they can only sell the as many FSC pieces as they purchased. When they go to pull your FSC order, they pull from the pile of combined stock that they have.

To clarify, the best comparison to this is buying renewable energy. When you buy wind power for electricity in your home, the power that runs your home may come from a non-renewable source. It would be too difficult and maybe impossible for the energy companies to organize each power source to each house, so it is "mixed".

In either case, buying renewable energy sources of FSC wood, you are making a conscious decision to support sustainable practices. The more we support these practices, the more likely they will be come the standard.

Kitchen and Bath Design Services...

Unique, Sustainable and American Made!

           

When it comes to sustainability Woodland is always looking for unique and eco-friendly products to offer our contractors and home owners. Although we just discovered this little jem, AAW Inc has been around for over 30 years. Based in California, this door manufacturer is one of the few companies that still uses solid wood for exterior doors. Although the distance from Philly to LA is not considered "local", supporting domestic manufacturing in today's economy is an important factor to consider when purchasing home building products. AAW uses only premium wood, mostly from sustainably managed forests and most of their mahogany is FSC certified.  All doors are produced under the strictest manufacturing standards and quality control. They also offer bamboo doors and all of their doors are finished in water based sealers.

An Ode to Dennis Oppenheim

On August 8 through the 11th, the village of Arts and Humanities celebrated the life of Dennis Oppenheim through their teen workshop. The teens and local residents recreated a smaller version of Oppenheim's well known sculpture entitled Device to Root Out Evil (1997) located in Vancouver, Canada. Woodland helped to provide some of the lumber for the project and is excited to share their work with you.....

Bathroom Renovation

Woodland does Design......Take a look at our newest design rehab. Woodland had a client who was looking to update their outdated master bath. The original bathroom was functional but lacked a lot of the things they were looking for in their new home. They wanted a bathroom with clean lines, but that also felt fresh and inviting. We worked out  a budget and prioritized which items would be essential to making their dream master bath.

Before and After Vanity

 First on the list was the vanity. Their current vanity was older, and starting to loose it's lackluster and crowned with a shell shaped double sink top, definitely not out client's style.We went with something that was warm in color and provided a clean French country look. The new vanity also has 4 center drawers for organizing brushes, toothpaste, ect.


The second "must have" was new tile. We only tiled in the original areas that had tile to reserve our budget for other important items. We decided on a honed Travertine for the floor, as Travertine adds a level of sophistication and longevity. We
went with a porcelain tile for the walls and around the drop in tub, as it more inexpensive than Travertine and requires less maintenance. To break the wall tile we added 3 rows of glass and tumbled linear stone.

The third item on the list was a new tub. The old tub was bone color, which our clients were not crazy about. In running theme with the fresh look, we went with white. We chose a soaking tub that was much larger and deeper than the previous tub. We also added a tiled ledge that had been missing from the previous layout, and removed an awkward step that was in front of the tub.

The other items on the list fell into place as we made figured on the three major items. We talked about removing the wall in the shower area, replacing the door to add more light to the space. Instead we left it and the large mirrors that were already inplace and in tact. We add all new fixtures that coordinated with one another. We removed an old large mirror with very little storage behind it and replaced it 2 large cameo mirror with full storage behind them.

This project served as a good example of how you don't always need to gut a bathroom to give your space an entirely new feeling. At the end of this projects our clients were overjoyed how well their new bathroom turned out and that they stayed in budget.

Below are some "Before and After" pictures. Enjoy!


........ BEFORE

........ AFTER

Pervious Concrete

Photo by Crag.org

Last summer the Philadelphia Water Department changed the way it bills commercial customers, separating stormwater charges from sewer bills and basing charges on the amount of impervious surface in a parcel. While the changes will help to reduce stormwater runoff, pollution to our water system, flooding and drought, they have also caused businesses to rethink the material used in designing roofs, pathways, sidewalks, parking lots and other normally impervious surfaces.

Because impervious surfaces do not allow water to soak into the ground as nature intends, this reduces the amount of water available for wells and springs and increases the amount of water above ground and the potential for flooding. Another downside is when water sits on a surface it collects pollutants from the air and cars, and during storms excess water that could not seep into the ground, flows across impervious surfaces and sweeps these pollutants into surrounding waters and farther downstream.

The Philadelphia's implementation of stormwater charges is hoped to serve in a catalyst for further green design, and acheive the city's goals laid out in Mayor Nutter's plan for sustainability, Greenworks, which began in 2009.


Here is the way the city calculates stormwater charges:

Stormwater Charge = (Gross Area Rate * Gross Area of Property) +

                                    (Impervious Area Rate * Impervious Area of Property)

By reducing the area of impervious property, business can see a reduction of their water bill, as well as reduction in overflow and flooding. Ways to reduce stormwater include impervious surfaces, such as using products like Empire Blended Pervious Concrete, a pre-blended permeable paving product. It looks just like concrete yet through small voids allow water and air to pass through. Another avenue to stormwater reduction, is installing a green roof. Colbond Enkadrain Mats and Rooflite lightweight.

For further information, check out the Stormwater Basic Information page.

ABC Show Recap

ABC SHOW RECAP

This year's Atlantic City Builder's show proved to have a good turn out of local builders and other industry professionals. Woodland showcased quite a few products, but the two that received the most interest were our Atlantis Rail System and Thermally Modified Wood. The Atlantis Rail System is a stainless steel tension system that allows for visible horizons and cool breezes while providing up to code safety precautions. The thermally modified wood by EcoPrem is naturally treated wood that is fire kilned to prevent rotting, mold and provide dimensional stability.  Check out our links for more information on these products.

Storm Chasers comes to Woodland.

Yesterday, Woodland had a pleasant surprise from one of the Discovery Channel's Storm Chaser teams, TIV (Tornado Intercept Vehicle). The team featured on the show stopped in to say hello (and fix their trailer). We got a glimpse inside this amazing machine, hand built by Sean Casey.  The 16,000-pound armored tank is outfitted with wind-resistant flaps and anchor spikes to keep him safe while filming inside a twister. The vehicle was en route to Pittsburgh where it is on display in conjunction with the IMAX film, Tornado Alley. The vehicle was also on display at the  Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, before making its debut at Woodland.

 

UltraTouch Launches Perforated Denim Insulation

 

Watch Bonded Logic's video on the latest innovation in their recycled denim insulation line, Ultra Touch. Woodland currently stocks the original unperforated Ultra Touch to the Philadelphia and Delaware Valley Region. For more information on available sizes and prices, call 215-727-533. Look for updates to find out when our stock will change to PERFORATED!