WaterWoods™ are Earthbilt’s™ exclusive brand of woods milled from submerged trees salvaged from under the waters of various dam impound lakes throughout the tropics. These unique woods offer the beauty, durability and strength of tropical hardwoods, but without any forest intrusion whatsoever. Earthbilt has secured exclusive US distribution from key operations and can offer a large variety of hardwoods, from softer woods to high-density, extremely durable woods that are great for exterior applications.
As an added benefit to using these woods, removing trees from under the water that died from flooding actually benefits the environment. That’s because these trees are very slowly deteriorating and, because it is an anaerobic environment (little-to-no oxygen is available), the microorganisms that consume the wood are those that release methane as a waste, rather than carbon dioxide. Methane is 25-times more powerful as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Thus, taking these trees out and putting them to use, especially for applications where the material will last for generations, will spare the emissions of more greenhouse gases. Logging these underwater trees is actually “net-carbon-positive”.
A few species available include:
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Cumaru (Dipteryx odorata) — an extremely dense wood that has been used extensively for boardwalk decking around the US, including by Atlantic City and New York City. Cumaru is considered extremely durable in the outdoors; -
Amargo (Vateirea erthrocarpa) — an dense wood that is gorgeous and considered very durable in the outdoors;
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Nispero (Vateirea erthrocarpa) — an extremely dense wood that is gorgeous and considered very durable in the outdoors.
WaterWoods™ can also carry Forest Stewardship Council certification and meet LEED-NC v 3.0 requirements, and thus are eligible for LEED points toward your project:
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Use of a minimum of 50% (based on cost) of FSC certified wood based materials and products will result in MR Credit 7 — 1 point. -
Use of a minimum of 10% salvaged materials based on cost of the total materials in the project will result in MR Credit 3 — 2 points.
There are no toxins or heavy metals of any sort in our WaterWoods™ — just plain lumber from trees that have been under the water for years.
WaterWoods™ are perfect for outdoor decking, whether you are looking for a no-maintenance deck that will go silver like other untreated woods, or whether you want to maintain the deck to retain the material’s original beauty.
WaterWoods™ are also great for indoor flooring, because of their incredible exotic beauty. WaterWoods™ may be your one solution for indoor and outdoor applications!
See the WaterWoods.us website for more information.
Call 917/543-4064 or email Earthbilt™ today to explore the possibilities of this innovative material. We are pleased to provide samples and technical specifications.
