Truckee business owner JD Hoss believes reclaiming wood floors is ‘truly reliving the beauty of the past.’ As an example, here’s a story: in 1899, old-growth trees were felled and installed as flooring for the new Magnolia Railroad Station in West Virginia. When the station closed in 1922, the hardwood was abandoned on site. Ironically, this neglect actually made the wood more beautiful, as the rain, snow, sun, and wind buffed the grain into distinctive and original patterns. Fast forward to present day: Ohio-based Olde Wood Ltd removes and re-mills the 100-plus year-old flooring, then Truckee business JD HOSS Hardwoods & Carpet installs it into a Tahoe City home.
Reclaimed wood floors are considered a green building practice as they reduce demand on current timber resources, and, as older wood, are usually denser and more durable than today’s fast-grown woods. They also add a little history and beauty to a home, Hoss says.
In the Magnolia wood project, JD HOSS added to the green building features by finishing the boards with zero VOC floor finishes and zero VOC adhesives (VOCs – volatile organic compounds – have a high vapor pressure and low water solubility. Often used in manufacturing, they are known to contaminate ground water).
Hoss says the green building movement is spreading to the masses, and with a little tweak to business marketing practices, could appeal to even more people. ‘We are looking for progress, not perfection,’ he philosophizes.
On Nov.12, Hoss will present a talk,entitled ‘Green Building for Normal People’ as part of a speaker series from the Sierra Green Building Association (SiGBA). See sidebar for info.
We caught up with Hoss for a quick email interview.
Moonshine Ink: What sparked your interest in green building?
JD Hoss: I was really drawn in by the beauty of reclaimed materials. I find the whole process so appealing, from finding the buildings that are going to be used, the hand-dismantling, to all of the care that goes into milling each floor board. When you install a reclaimed wood floor, you are truly reliving the beauty of the past: walking where our forefathers walked, using the materials that they used. It’s a deep connection to the roots of our country.
MI: What’s it going to take to ‘bring the green building movement to the masses’?
JH: I think that we’re on our way, but it’s going to take time. We’re a 200-year-old country, and it may take us another 200 years. For now, we need to appreciate the progress and not expect perfection. As our resources continue to diminish, it will only increase our need to use reclaimed products. Let’s see if we can get there before we have a civil war over basics like clean water and land. We also need to consider greed versus green.
MI: What are the top three things that a Tahoe homeowner should know about green building?
JH: I don’t think that there is really a ‘top three’ answer. There are so many different levels of going green, and it all depends on what’s in your heart. There are groups out there trying to get you to score points. Then there are hippies who want to live in teepees in the forest. You need to do your own research and figure out whether or not it meets your standards or someone else’s. We need clean water and soil and earth to grow. Water rates are high and continue to go up. We need to learn to share our resources and use what is already available to us. Remember that green is also the color of money and ends in greed. Be careful of costly trends claiming to be green. With a little bit of research you can do what makes the most sense to you.
~ Interview by Mayumi Elegado, mayumi@moonshineink.com. JD Hoss Hardwoods & Carpet: jdhoss.com, 530-582-7461.
