Company Story

About Sustainable Lumber Company:

We are unlike any flooring company most people have ever seen. We start with 100% local salvaged and SFI (Sustainable Forest Initiative) certified Douglas Fir and utilizes a truly unique manufacturing process.

Our flooring and door blanks are processed at a local Mennonite/Amish community where they are placed in a kiln and slowly cured to 6%. Our kiln is fueled exclusively with renewable woody biomass and salvaged timber. After drying, rough sawn blanks are then ready to process into flooring, doors, and molding.

Our Process:

 We know every board, personally. Artisan style craftsmanship goes into every handcrafted floor and door they produce. Every board is personally handled up to 12 times allowing the opportunity to check quality and detail at every step.

Once kiln dried, flooring and door blanks are individually selected for character and personality. Every piece is hand graded for unique characteristics we feel accurately tells the story of the American Wild West.

Our pre-finished flooring is hand rubbed and hand sanded producing an artisan style appearance. Hand rubbing insures the highest quality finish which cannot be duplicated by a machine.

We have no secretes. We are very transparent which is obvious because we personally invite every customer to view their flooring as it’s being manufactured. We are not optimized like most of our competitors, nor do we want to be. We believe in artisan craftsmanship which cannot be duplicated by a computer. We are not and will never be a huge flooring and door company, we believe in people and craftsmanship which is very obvious when you visit us. We physically check quality and craftsmanship at every step throughout our process. We know every board personally and here’s why:

1. Logs are cut into flooring and door blanks which are graded to an appearance grade in the rough
2. Flooring and door blanks are then hand graded and trimmed to designated flooring lengths and widths
3. Flooring and door blanks are then stacked into units on kiln stickers and visually graded again as they are packaged in preparation for the kiln
4. Flooring and door blanks are then carefully slowly seasoned in the kiln to 6%. After kiln drying every piece is personally hand feed and visually graded before entering the moulder
5. Molder speed is set for 30 feet per minute upon which every board is visually inspected and graded into 2 stacks; appearance and cabin grade
6. Flooring and door boards are then textured, sanded, or both and personally inspected at every step
7. After sanding every board is carefully and personally inspected one more time and then sent to the pre-finished flooring and door shop
8. Every board is then pre-finished into flooring or manufactured into a custom made door,  which is visually inspected at least 3 more times during the hand sanding and hand rubbed staining process
9. Every piece is hand stacked on drying racks and visually inspected as it dries
10. After air drying naturally for up to 48 hours every piece is then visually inspected one last time prior to packaging and delivery

At Sustainable Lumber Co. we believe in doing business the right way first, which is obvious since we’ve never advertised or attended any trade shows. The bulk of our business comes from refferals and repeat customers. Technology and automation are good things but we truly believe it will never replace true craftsmanship and good’ol common sense.

Salvaged Timber:

Regress

• Millions of acres of timber have regressed in Montana due to wild fires and insect infestation
• Dry dead standing timber poses future threats to catastrophic wild fire, elk and deer habitat, and soil erosion
• High altitudes, extreme climate, and treacherous terrain have made vast sections of timber virtually inaccessible
• Dead standing trees start the natural curing process high in the mountains
• After many years the trees naturally cure and dry with only Mother Nature to thank
• The combination of high altitudes, low humidity, and naturally durable heart wood , produce one of the most unique and coveted specialty woods in the world
• Preserved only by nature, these trees can withstand some of the harshest climate in the U.S.
• Forest fires and disease are a part of nature, harvesting dead trees ensures we’ll always have a sustainable supply

Reclaim

• Award winning conservation efforts by R&R Conner inc., Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and the U.S. Forest Service have provided the opportunity to reclaim dead timber via eco-friendly methods
• Past projects include the first timber management project authorized under the “Healthy Forests Restoration Act” (HFRA)
• The HFRA restores forest health by the selective harvesting of salvaged dead standing trees
• Eco-friendly helicopter logging eliminates damage to young tree growth, water sheds, wild life, and delicate soils
• To preserve wild life habitat, only existing roads systems are used
• Like cedar, high altitude old growth  Doug fir heart wood has a natural resistance to decay and rot

Recycle

• Long, cold, and harsh winters, short growing seasons,  and old growth trees; allows us to produce some of the most stable Douglas fir in the world
• After selective harvesting from stands of dead trees, we recycle the salvaged timber into useable wood products
• Shrinkage, warping, and cracking will occur naturally while standing dead in the forest for years, resulting in a more stable product for your project
• All our products are full sawn rough, just like artisans 100 years ago
• Our products consist of: 1×4 through 12×12 up to 24’. Larger sizes available upon special request

Regenerate

• Removing dead timber drastically reduces the potential for future catastrophic forest fires and allows the regeneration of a future healthy forest
• Environment impact assessments are made to protect the young regenerating forest
• Only selected trees with sound heart wood are harvested. The majority are left intact to provide homes for animals, overtime they will naturally decompose and replenish valuable nutrients to the soil
• Utilizing eco-friendly helicopter harvesting, ensures little to no water sheds and fragile soils are disrupted in order to expedite the regeneration of new seedlings
• Utilizing existing road ways for access ensures new growth, wildlife, and recreationists remain undisturbed