This morning we toured a local wood floor company. Now I have not been into too many wood floor companies, but Tree Hugger Wood Floors seems to be a little unique. I certainly have not been in any that have had their mill and manufacturing facility in the backyard!

Daniel, Francis, and Wallace Baird graciously toured us around some of their 150 acres of property in Walkertown. They have lived on the property for 31 years and have been purchasing equipment for the company for a little over 20 years. It was until only recently that the Bairdís really began the development of their company after a family trip to Wisconsin to learn the different aspects of producing and installing sustainable mixed species wood flooring.

They are incredibly passionate about what they do and how they do it. Every step in the process has been carefully thought out with the environment in mind. From the harvesting of trees (taking the worst first) to the application of the Eco-minded floor sealers, nothing has been left to chance.

The making of the boards is pretty straightforward but labor intensive. Trees are coaxed out of the forest floor, milled, and dried in stacks. The planks are dried for a period of time to reduce the normal moisture content from about 50% to about 14%. After this step they are ready for the solar kiln where the moisture content is reduced to 6-8%, more of an industry standard.

After drying they are cut to the appropriate widths and brought in to the shop to be planed. This step not only gets the board to the appropriate height, but it also adds the tongue and groove. Any leftover scrap, which is VERY minimal, is cut into two foot lengths and used in their wood stoves to heat their homes and water! Be sure to click on the link about to visit their site to view what they do, but keep in mind that the pictures do not do the actual floors justice!