Let me begin by admitting that I am not a woodworker, nor do I have a woodshop in my garage. However, I do love wood. I always have.

My first awareness of the beauty of wood came from admiring the sculptures carved by my uncle, Bob Knauer, when he was a student at the Cleveland School of Art. During his sophomore year he placed third in a juried show with a sculpture of his left hand carved from an exotic piece of wood collected during his WWII travels as a foot soldier. For my eighth birthday, he gave me a 15-foot high, hand carved totem pole complete with winged beasts and other critters I cannot remember (although I always claimed that my older sister was the model). When I was a teenager, Uncle Bob made custom gun stocks for one of my rifles and my .410 shotgun, and beautifully carved rosewood grips inlaid with ivory initials for one of my dad’s handguns.   

Now, decades later, here I am in the deconstruction business salvaging lumber among with other things. While I get a kick out of an old craftsman window, or a beautiful 1930s porcelain pedestal sink, seeing a unit of old 2x4s salvaged from a deconstructed house really turns me on—weird, huh? We look at a window, or a sink, and think of the craftsmanship that went into making it and how difficult, or expensive, it would be to replicate it. Yet it is still that piece of lumber that gets my attention. I guess it’s the memory of those beautiful things Bob carved that gets me thinking about the next life a board might have. Windows and sinks don’t have much choice in their afterlife. They might be used as decorative hangings or planters, but their form doesn’t change. A chunk of lumber, on the other hand, has infinite possibilities.

TRP sells the lumber from deconstruction projects into a myriad of markets. Sometimes a piece of wood becomes a framing member in a remodeling project. Truthfully, that’s probably where the vast majority of lumber goes. Even without the proper grade stamp, lumber can be used for framing as long as it’s a non-structural element, or the local inspector or structural engineer signs off on its use. But even the lowly 2x4 can generate some excitement. It might go into a new green construction project, or wind up in the wall of a poor family in Mexico that purchases one of our trailer loads to build or improve their little casita.

Other uses are more glamorous, of course. The Wooden Duck in Berkeley turns our old growth, Douglas Fir into beautiful furniture. A mill produces tongue and groove flooring from some of our lumber. A post-and-beam builder uses larger dimensional beams in the construction of new custom homes. And double-drop and shiplap redwood siding is often expertly resurfaced to match the siding on existing period homes.

Straight-grained Douglas fir and maple bowling alley lanes and gymnasium floors have wound up as floors, tables, countertops and bars from Ketchum, Idaho, to Columbus, Ohio--from Bahia de Los Angeles to the Tonga Islands and beyond for all I know. Still, for me it doesn’t matter the species, dimension or grade. It’s wood, it’s got warmth and its going to serve another great purpose for someone, somewhere.  

This is a great business! We serve a worthy purpose locally in each of our present locations and will do the same in locations that are still a dream. We keep reusable resources out of local, overburdened landfills, and people all over the world benefit from our actions. “Think globally and act locally” was just a chant 30 years ago. Today, for the employees of TRP, it is a mission.

Over the 13-plus years we have existed, TRP and its Certified Deconstruction Contractors have deconstructed hundreds of houses and scores of commercial buildings. Last year alone we deconstructed over 200 buildings. Approximately 50 of those were partial deconstruction projects and the balance were complete. An average project is between 1,500 and 2,000 square feet and we typically salvage over 12,000 board feet of lumber from each project. In 2007 we expect to complete 275 projects. That translates into over three million board feet of lumber in one year alone.

So, for a former investment banker, what’s the bottom line? Hell, I don’t know, but for an old lumber hugger it’s a great big smile and maybe another story.

Call for Entries:  Lifecycle Building Challenge
The Lifecycle Building Challenge www.lifecyclebuilding.org supports the development of new thinking on green building and reuse and is looking for innovative ideas, policies, tools and designs on reducing construction and demolition debris. This free competition is open to students and professionals. Registration ends April 15, 2007. Check it out! For additional information, contact: Lifecycle Building Challenge info@lifecyclebuilding.org
(415) 947-4103

If you want an excuse to visit a truly Midwestern city in full spring bloom, attend the Building Materials Reuse Association Conference, May 14 to 16, 2007, in Madison, Wisconsin. Visit . www.buildingreuse.org for more information.

Stay toasty warm with quality insulation. We just received a semi-truck load of rigid foam insulation. Get it while the getting’s good and the weather is cold – brrrrrr.

This month we are featuring windows. We have hundreds to choose from. Receive 25% off on any window, including dual-paned (some are brand new) and period. Through March 15, with a copy of this e-letter.

TRP is accepting donations of cars, trucks, SUV's, RV's, and motorcycles. Donating a vehicle is a simple process. You just pick up the phone and call. We do the rest. So if you'd like to get rid of an unwanted vehicle, phone now for a pickup. 800-574-0888. Or you can donate your vehicle online at www.vehiclesforcharity.com. Unfortunately, vehicle donations can only be made from the Bay Area counties plus Santa Cruz.

Go to our website www.thereusepeople.org, click on the tab "Opportunities" and look under the heading "Employment Opportunities"

• All the materials from an 8,500 sq-ft home in Blackhawk built by the original developer of Blackhawk
• All materials from a 1,300 sq-ft Carmel Ranch home with great oak flooring
• Great cabinets, doors and other fixtures from four remodel projects in Orinda, Monte Sereno, Saratoga and Foster City

• All materials from a beautiful Rancho Santa Fe home, including 5,000 sq-ft of flooring, furniture, wrought iron gates, carved solid wood cabinets and brand new marble-topped office furniture.
• All materials from an Encinitas home, including French doors, granite-top vanities, interior and exterior light fixtures and newer appliances.
• All materials from a 1980 contemporary home in Del Mar, including redwood decking and siding, indoor spiral staircase and kitchen cabinets with granite countertops.
• A wealth of beautiful fixtures and lumber from nine separate projects in Beverly Hills, Pacific Palisades, West Los Angeles, Encino, Venice and the Hollywood Hills.

New Location and Contact Information

TRP ReUse Bazaar
9235 San Leandro Street
Oakland, CA 94603
(510) 383-1983; toll-free 888-588-9490
Hours: Mon through Fri 10:00 to 6:00; Sat and Sun 10:00 to 4:00

Please visit our partnering warehouses in the greater Los Angeles area:

Habitat Home Improvement Store
17700 S. Figueroa (corner of 182nd), Gardena/Carson CA 90248
(310)-323-5665
Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 6: 00 p.m.