Is Blue the New Green?

Alabama Baldwin County Here comes a new color in green building!

by Jene' Young

Published: Tue, January 15, 2008 - 7:44 pm CST Last Updated: Mon, July 28, 2008 - 4:29 pm CST

New construction in Baldwin County shouldn't be a big surprise.
But a new material being used may be.
We've all heard about "Going Green", but "Going Blue"?
That is what Greg Wells, Vice President of Edgefield Lumber in Loxley wants you to know. He distributes blue lumber across the Southeast, one of his clients is in Fairhope.

Rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina continues at Fairhope Yacht Club.
Grant Morring with TarMac Construction says people ask him why the lumber is blue.
“Oh yeah everyone stops to ask, they are very curious."

Wells describes the blue lumber as, "A Goretex for wood in how it works. That's the secret to this product, it controls the moisture absorption within this lumber. It is a GreenSpec listed product because we have no active mildicides in the chemical. That's what makes blue wood an environmentally friendly product."

There are other benefits to going blue.
"We offer mold protection, rot protection, fungus and termite protection. We are not a pressure treated lumber."

The difference between blue wood and pressurized wood is that water is not added to the blue wood. That makes it lighter, so it's easier to transport and easier to handle."

Morring says the weight difference is substantial between blue wood and other treated wood. He says the difference is by at least half.

If you are wondering about the cost, Edgefield Lumber says it's about one and a half percent more than the total cost of building a home using traditional lumber.

Not only is blue wood being used to rebuild the Fairhope Yacht Club, blue wood has been used on ABC’s Extreme Home Makeover Show. Edgefield Lumber is also the supplier for the “Green Builder” magazine ‘Vision Home’ in New Orleans, as well as “Coastal Living” magazines ‘Idea House’ in Galveston, Texas.

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