Triangle Urban Wood Utilization Program
The Triangle Urban Wood Utilization Program is an emerging public-private partnership among arborists, sawmills, landfill owners, town officials, and builders in the Chapel Hill-Durham area. We are committed to diverting logs from the waste stream in order to generate high-quality lumber that can be used to build affordable housing. We achieve this vision in six steps.
Step 1: Tree to Log
Arborists and excavators cut urban trees to sawlog lengths. Logs get transported to one of Fireside Lumber Company’s four drop sites in the Durham-Chapel Hill area.
Step 2: Log to Sawmill
Sawyers at Fireside Lumber Company use one of our three sawmills to cut logs into lumber for home construction— siding, flooring, & framing material.
Step 3: Lumber to Kiln
Lumber goes into the Nyles L200 dehumidification kiln at Fireside’s facility. The wood is dried to a precise moisture content and sterilized for use.
Step 4: Kiln to Woodshop
Woodworkers at Fireside’s shop square-up and process lumber into tongue and groove flooring, siding, and other items.
Step 5: Woodshop to Builder
Builders integrate local lumber into their projects.
Step 6: Urban Tree Replaced
Cities and landowners get native trees to plant and begin the process over again.
For a deep dive into the process of turning local trees into local homes, see our 10-Step Challenge.
Triangle Urban Wood Utilization Map
Since 2007, Fireside Lumber Company has been cultivating win-win relationship with local arborists, excavators, farmers, and landfill owners. As a result, we’ve been able to develop a hub-and-spoke-style supply chain that minimizes the time required to move wood from its originating tree to its final product. If arborists are working in the Chapel Hill-Durham area, they have a convenient drop zone within 20 minutes.
Potential Log Sources and Suppliers
1— City of Durham Logyard
2— UNC/Chapel Hill Campus North Logyard
3— Alamance Landfill
4— Fogleman’s Landfill
5— Gorillaz Landfill
6— Arnold Smith Excavation
7— Wilkerson Grading
8— Brockwell’s Landfill
9— The Treeist
10— Bartlett Tree Service CH Logyard
11— Orange County Landfill
12— Skillin Tree Care
13— Ludy Tree Care
14— The Arborist
15— Lubber and Son
16— Davey Tree
Fireside Log Yards and Sawmills
1-Fireside North Logyard
2-Fireside South Logyard
3-Fireside East Logyard
4-Fireside West Logyard
5. Fireside Central Logyard
Wood Shop and Kiln
1-Fireside Lumber Co: Kiln and Woodshop