3 ms·

I did an enormous amount of research when replacing my deck this summer and BL was top of my list. My experience trying to source it here in Eastern PA was, to

I did an enormous amount of research when replacing my deck this summer and BL was top of my list. My experience trying to source it here in Eastern PA was, to put it mildly, off-putting, as everyone I spoke to wanted to, unprompted, spend the first 30 minutes of the conversation telling me how shady their competitors were, especially when it came to claims of domestic sourcing. I ended up doing a kind of 180 and installing Accoya wood, which, geographically and species-wise is about the furthest thing from BL available, but felt to me like a good investment in longevity and thus embodied carbon, even when accounting for the long boat trip(s) to my place.

solomonb 3y ago
How did you like Accoya? I've been thinking about using it for a few projects.
- doctorhandshake 3y ago
  It’s absolutely gorgeous and very very expensive. Unlike the other comment I absolutely can tell the difference between synthetic and natural woods and in general while I don’t have a blanket issue with man-made materials, I do have an issue with ersatz anything, almost to the degree of having an allergy. For that reason I was boxed into real woods, and from a sustainability (and toxicity) and performance perspective, I didn’t find a ton of options beyond black locust or thermally modified or acetylated woods. Accoya was everything I wanted except cheap, and it is clearly real wood, which, sadly, seems luxurious today. Just installed it so can’t speak to longevity but encouraged by the 50 year warranty against structural issues caused by fungal decay or rot, or against swell or shrinkage > 2.5%.
  - doctorhandshake 3y ago
    I should also mention that it doesn’t get hot at all, even in very hot summer full-sun conditions. Very nice to walk on barefoot - it feels very soft to the touch.
  - solomonb 3y ago
    Sounds like a good quality lumber. Do you happen to know the price you paid for it? Last I got a quote was before the pandemic but it was around $6 to $7 per boardfoot which at the time was very comparable to hard maple. I'm out of the loop on current lumber prices.

solomonb 3y ago

How did you like Accoya? I've been thinking about using it for a few projects.

doctorhandshake 3y ago
It’s absolutely gorgeous and very very expensive. Unlike the other comment I absolutely can tell the difference between synthetic and natural woods and in general while I don’t have a blanket issue with man-made materials, I do have an issue with ersatz anything, almost to the degree of having an allergy. For that reason I was boxed into real woods, and from a sustainability (and toxicity) and performance perspective, I didn’t find a ton of options beyond black locust or thermally modified or acetylated woods. Accoya was everything I wanted except cheap, and it is clearly real wood, which, sadly, seems luxurious today. Just installed it so can’t speak to longevity but encouraged by the 50 year warranty against structural issues caused by fungal decay or rot, or against swell or shrinkage > 2.5%.
- doctorhandshake 3y ago
  I should also mention that it doesn’t get hot at all, even in very hot summer full-sun conditions. Very nice to walk on barefoot - it feels very soft to the touch.
- solomonb 3y ago
  Sounds like a good quality lumber. Do you happen to know the price you paid for it? Last I got a quote was before the pandemic but it was around $6 to $7 per boardfoot which at the time was very comparable to hard maple. I'm out of the loop on current lumber prices.