It turns out lighter gypsum wallboard sells well. In July 2010, USG Corporation tested the market for Sheetrock UltraLight panels, which are anywhere from 15-24 pounds lighter per panel depending on the size, and they outsold heavier product, according to NYSE Magazine. Since then, the panels have rolled out to several Home Depot stores and a 40% lighter joint compound was introduced in January this year.
If you like the look of reclaimed wood — and you might, it’s really popular right now — then Pioneer Millworks should be on your radar. The company, located in Farmington, New York and McMinnville, Oregon, carries FSC certification for all of its reclaimed wood and has saved more than 21 million board feet of wood from barns, industrial buildings, and the like. Pioneer Millworks has flooring, siding, paneling, timbers, etc, and it’s all nice stuff. I could think about where to use these materials all day long.
Just in time for outdoor entertaining and BBQ, Loll Designs introduced a new line called the Fresh Air Collection derived from a flat-pack design for furniture originally intended to be shipped in a prefab, disaster-relief home. The home never materialized but that didn’t stop Loll from finishing their designs. The collection is made with paper-composite Richlite for structural bracing and recycled and recyclable HDPE (from milk jugs). Fresh Air includes a table at $760 and benches from $210.
Oregon-based Viridian Wood Products, a company we’ve mentioned in relation to reclaimed veneer panels and shipping pallet floors, just announced the debut of “American Classics.” These are a new line of reclaimed red oak, white oak, and rustic oak floors derived from industrial shipping crates.
Fireclay Tile recently announced “the most sustainable glazed brick ever produced” with a new Glazed Thin Brick for interior and exterior applications. The brick is available in nine colors and made in the USA with a skinny brick sourced from McNear Brick and Block near San Jose, California. Glazed Thin Brick has anywhere from 30-90% post-consumer recycled content and a lead- and VOC-free glaze.
Elements by Durcon is officially launching in the DFW market in Texas, where it is also manufactured (about 200 miles from Dallas in Taylor). The eco-friendly surface is made with a proprietary blend of at least 10% post-consumer recycled glass, natural quartz minerals, and resin to create a low-VOC material that’s solid, non-porous, and “never requires sealing,” according to Durcon.
