Harvesting the 'urban forest'

Losing a big tree is a sad -- and expensive -- experience for most homeowners. But some are turning that loss into a gain. They're transforming their downed trees into tabletops, flooring or kitchen cabinets, with help from a local business, Wood From the Hood.

"Most people don't like the idea of a big, beautiful tree going into a chipper or the dump," said Jon Buck, who handles custom sales and product development. Wood From the Hood offers an alternative: milling, drying and fabricating those trees into lumber. Even diseased trees, such as elms with Dutch elm or ash hit by the emerald ash borer, still yield usable wood.

"People ask, 'Is the wood still good?'" said founder Rick Siewert. "The bug is only skin deep." It infests the bark but not the wood itself; once the wood has been treated and kiln-dried, beetles and borers aren't an issue.

And while elm and ash aren't as popular as, say, walnut or cherry, both have an attractive grain and look good in a variety of applications, Buck said. "Most people are surprised how nice a wood it is."

Minneapolis homeowners Bruce Chamberlain and Melissa Mrachek contacted Wood From the Hood after a huge elm in their front yard succumbed to Dutch elm disease last year. "It was a beautiful, perfect vase-shaped elm," Chamberlain said. "It's such a waste to throw it all away."

Furniture with a story

Wood From the Hood coordinated the tree-cutting, then kiln-dried the wood and fabricated a giant slab that Chamberlain turned into a dining-room table. He also got lumber for a play loft he built for their 2-year-old son, and logs that he used to build porch benches. "The tree lives on," he said. "We use the table every day. We love it, and the story behind it."

Siewert and his wife, Cindy, who also own Siewert Cabinet & Fixture Manufacturing in Minneapolis, got the idea for the business several years ago after an ash tree on their property had to be cut down because of disease. Cindy, an avid recycler, suggested they find a use for the wood. They found local resources for sawing and drying, and ultimately started doing some of it themselves at the cabinet shop.

In addition to working with diseased trees, Wood From the Hood collects trees that have fallen naturally or are being removed for new construction. The company sells raw lumber and has branched into making and selling household products, including cribbage boards, picture frames, coaster sets and cutting boards, all made from local trees. They've also made some prototype ash baseball bats. (For information about local retailers that carry Wood From the Hood products, visit the company's website, www.woodfromthehood.com.)

The company doesn't cut down trees, but works with local tree trimmers to coordinate their removal. "We can recommend someone to take down the tree, and walk them through the process," Rick Siewert said. "It's nice to know ahead, so that logs are cut to the right length. A tree guy cuts where it's convenient, but if we know what someone wants, whether it's flooring or cabinets, we can make sure they're cut so the yield is better and you get more material. The sooner we get involved, the better."

Wood From the Hood now handles 22 species of local wood, samples of which are on display at the cabinet shop. Elm remains a staple because there's a constant supply, with thousands of trees cut down locally last year, Buck said. It makes good flooring, he added. "It's not the hardest wood, but it's good for low-traffic areas." It can be tricky for less-than-skilled woodworkers, however, because "it can have an attitude. It wants to twist when it's dry."

Ash, too, has strengths and weaknesses. It's too porous to be used for cutting boards, Buck said, but it's good for flooring and refacing kitchen cabinets. The recent appearance of the emerald ash borer in the Twin Cities is likely to ensure a steady supply of that wood, as well. Currently, it's cut and treated on-site at the Siewerts' cabinet shop because it can't be moved out of the quarantine area; the company recently received USDA certification to handle borer-infected ash.

The cost for milling and drying a 24-inch diameter tree and turning it into lumber is about $900, plus pickup, Buck said. Fabricating a custom piece, such as an elm tabletop, is more expensive; Chamberlain said he spent about $2,500 to get all the wood from his giant elm milled, table-planed and finished, including a coat of polyurethane on the tabletop.

Wood From the Hood's local focus helps keep costs down. "We produce everything within 100 miles," Cindy Siewert noted. All lumber is tracked by ZIP code.

"It's very environmentally conscious, and an old-fashioned way of thinking," Buck said. "People used to use logs from their property to build their house, but most people in urban areas now don't have know-how or equipment."

Kim Palmer • 612-673-4784