Viridian Wood has debuted two FSC-certified exotic hardwood flooring products that are 100 percent reclaimed from shipping pallets and crates.
The commercial-grade products are called Jakarta Market Blend and Fishtail Oak.
Jakarta Market Blend is a varied mix of dense hardwoods from the tropical lowlands of Asia, and comes in four different finishes—Dark Sort, Light Sort, Tropical Mix and Rustic – ranging from dark reds to vibrant blondes.
The Rustic finish features the original weathered beam face, which is milled to a high tolerance while retaining the vintage quality of the wood.
Fishtail Oak (pictured) is a blend of chocolate, honey and cinnamon, with tinges of burgundy and iridescent copper flecks, in a quarter sawn cut.
Viridian says both flooring products are extremely hard (Jakarta: 1,100-3,500 Janka scale, Fishtail: 1,450 Janka scale) and well suited to high-traffic or commercial applications, and are available unfinished and factory-finished in a low-VOC polyurethane. Viridian flooring is solid-strip and comes in a 2½-inch width and 5/8-inch thickness, in random lengths of 2 feet to 6½ feet.
Viridian says its hardwood flooring products can contribute points toward LEED credits MRc3: (Materials Reuse), MRc4 (Recycled Content), MRc5 (Regional Materials) and MRc7 (Certified Wood).
The subject of wood certification schemes' role in LEED has been drawing controversy. Last week Greenpeace, ForestEthics, the National Wildlife Federation, and Rainforest Action Network took out a full-page ad in the Toronto Star, accusing the USGBC of greenwash. The ad alters the USGBC logo to read “U.S. Greenwash Building Council,” and says proposed changes to the LEED program “would reward the use of materials sourced from recklessly clearcut forests and rainforest destruction.”
In June, Jason Grant of the Sierra Club Forest Certification Team said pilot credit 43 will reward products verified by any of the five major forest certification systems – even though last December, U.S. Green Building Council members voted to give points only to wood carrying the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) seal.
