Arbor Wood Thermally Modified Wood - Available Now!
When it comes to decking or siding there are numerous options in the marketplace today. The unfortunate part is that for one reason or another, many of them are made from less than ideal materials. A material that may prove to be durable, may carry with it a high level of embodied carbon (brick or metal). Certain materials may claim to be made from recycled content or claim to be maintenance free, but require additional virgin plastics or toxic additives to perform as such (composite decking). While others may be made from more common, inexpensive materials, but need frequent painting or upkeep (fiber cement or generic wood). This is not an exhaustive list - but it goes to show that there are a lot of pros and cons for common decking or siding materials.
One of the bright spots however in the building materials industry is a truly sustainable product that meets the needs of both modern rain-screen sided homes and decking / fencing needs. It's called thermally modified wood - specifically Arbor Wood Thermally Modified Wood.
Thermally modified wood is raw timber - that's it. But the key is that it undergoes a specialized heat treatment, which is a completely additive-free, chemical-free process, to fundamentally change the structure of the wood to make it perform better than non-treated raw timber.
The thermal modification process is unique, and unlike any other process of kiln drying standard lumber or other "pressure treated" board processes.* Essentially, during thermal modification, the wood is heated in special oxygen-deprived environment and dried to a point where the cells actually change shape and align tightly against one another into a stronger, highly uniform structure. This produces a harder, more stable, more durable, longer lasting, rot/mold/fungus resistant, more beautiful board. The boards can be used just like other traditional wood products. This process produces a board with less cracking, chipping, cupping, or warping - all without any of the downsides of plastics, cements, metals, or glues that are required for other products to provide similar functionality and stability. Just renewable, carbon-sequestering raw timber that will last for decades.
-----
Arbor Wood is the premier company bringing these product to market in the US. Centrally located in Minnesota, Arbor Wood works with FSC-managed forests and produces/warehouses the products in it's northern Minnesota manufacturing facilities. It ships nation-wide when ordered from Go Green Home Supply.
-----
An additional upside is the pure aesthetics of this premier, natural product. The natural sugars in the wood are accentuated to show a deeper, richer color through the processing. It also has the ability to be truly maintenance-free. Thermally modified wood doesn't require staining/painting (although you can choose to do so). This aids in its sustainability prowess low lifetime cost because you don't have purchase and refinish your siding or decking with chemical based treatments every few years to ensure it lasts a long time.
Products can be either Ash, Pine, or Red Oak species of wood, each with their unique colors and grain patterns. Various dimensions, board profiles, and mounting options are available depending on the application. Additionally, various factory finish options are available and can be viewed on our product pages.
One very popular finish option available with Arbor Wood's thermally modified siding product is their BRNSH branded siding. This is a classic Japanese technique known as Shou Sugi Ban (or Yakisugi) which chars the exterior surface of the board, carbonizing the wood surface, making it especially resistant to rot and fungal decay.
Lastly, if you are in an area with WUI (Wildland Urban Interface) requirements - areas in high risk of forest fire - Arbor Wood siding is WUI Certified for use in these areas.
For all of these reasons Arbor Wood thermally modified wood solves many of the problems that have long been associated with other siding, decking, or fencing products.
Oh yeah - and it comes with a 20-year limited warranty from the Arbor Wood factory - although all of the research and testing proves it will last much, much longer!
-----
Go Green Home Supply is an official sales partner and affiliate of Arbor Wood. We are proud to offer their thermally modified decking and siding products on our website. See Go Green Home Supply's product pages for more information and to purchase:
-----
*Traditional, pressure treated lumber is processed differently, driving toxic chemicals into the wood fiber to promote it's resistance to water/rot. There are applications where traditional pressure treated products are required - but for things like decking, fencing, or siding, these chemically processed boards are not required, nor should we want to use anything toxic when we don't have to.
