While recent media has shown the positive impact that “Going Green” can have on the environment, Designed Stairs has been conducting “Green-minded” practices for over two decades.
Creating Clean Energy Sources
We heat our 50,000 sq. ft. mill facility with scrap material using clean-burning boiler technology, almost eliminating our need for natural gas.
Recycled Materials
We turn our sawdust into animal bedding for local stable owners so that nothing goes to waste.
Sustainable Forestry
At Designed Stairs we have been “Green” for over twenty years. We use only the highest quality hardwood from managed sustainable forests.
Designed Stairs only purchases lumber from responsible suppliers that practice sustainable forestry practices. Designed Stairs’ hardwood lumber grows in closely managed forests. Only specifically selected trees are harvested for lumber, allowing the forest to naturally renew itself. Since hardwood lumber is used in its natural state, there is little processing required compared to sheet goods (plywood) or man-made products. Since wood is a natural product, the small amount of waste created is either biodegradable or recyclable. Designed Stairs uses a large portion of our wood scrap to heat our 50,000 sq. ft. Dimension Mill building.
Third-party forest certification, based on standards developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), is available for “green certification.” The certification verifies that the wood products come from well-managed forests. The wood product is no different than the wood DSI normally uses. If the certification from the FSC is critical for you, we are able to purchase wood that has been certified. The cost for FSC certified lumber may exceed 60% of the standard material costs for the same species.
FSC Certified Wood Products — Third-party forest certification, based on standards developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), is the best way to ensure that wood products come from well-managed forests. Wood products must go through a chain-of-custody certification process to carry an FSC stamp. Manufactured wood products can meet the FSC certification requirements with less than 100% certified wood content through percentage-based claims. With a few special-case exceptions, any non-salvaged solid-wood product and most other wood products must be FSC-certified to be included in GreenSpec. A few manufactured wood products, including engineered lumber and particleboard or MDF, can be included if they have other environmental advantages—such as absence of formaldehyde binders. Engineered wood products in GreenSpec do not qualify by virtue of their resource efficiency benefits alone.
Utilizing Technology
We partnered with the Museum of Science and Industry to bring green stair design to the Smart Home.
