Poplar Bark Siding
It’s obvious when I think about it, though my only exposure, until now, to bark siding has been with staged replica “native” structures viewed in a museum, and my own first building project when I was eight. In both instances, I suspect the siding selection was based in resource availability, necessity, and in my case the typical age-related insolvency that leads all eight year olds to creative solutions. Plus, it looked really cool and kept the rain out.
I just found this website that features natural poplar bark siding, Furniss Enterprises, they are based in North Carolina. Here is a short quote from their website:
“The poplar bark used by Furniss Enterprises is obtained only from trees that are already designated for harvest. What was formerly considered to be an unusable byproduct of the tree, the bark is salvaged before taking the logs to the sawmill. Bark Siding is an eco-friendly choice for your building project. All consideration is given to proper harvesting, conservation and environmentally sound practices. Working closely with foresters and local sources, trees are carefully selected for the best bark product. No machines are used to harvest the product. The bark is hand peeled away from the trees the old-time way using a spud, during a very limited time of year.”
I’m really drawn to the ‘hands-on’ nature of how they harvest this product and it’s perfect that poplar grows so fast, it just makes sense. I like the wholesomeness of it and the fact that it makes me feel like I’m not just living in a tree house… but in an actual tree!
This company charges $6 per square foot, which seems quite reasonable. I plan to order some for my next fort project!
Check out their gallery.
Enjoy!
Zeta
Posted on January 06, 2010
