Join the HBA’s Home Performance Council quarterly meeting and tour Urban Timberworks (UTW) tomorrow. Meeting and tour are free to HBA of Metro Portland members, $5 for non-members. RSVP required to Shaina at shainas@hbapdx.org. Tour begins at 9 a.m. on Thursday, June 7 at the UTW Yard 2455 SE 4th Ave, Portland, 97202.
Following the tour, at 10 a.m., coffee and doughnuts will be served at the nearby UTW showroom located at 1323 SE 6th Ave, inside Green Hammer’s woodworking shop. Dress for the weather and wear close-toed shoes; the mill and yard are entirely outdoors. Parking is limited at the UTW Yard, carpooling is recommended.
More about Urban Timberworks:
Five years ago, lighting struck a 150-year-old Oregon White Oak tree on Sauvie Island. Nine feet in diameter (not circumference) and now a danger to the home and people near it, the tree had to come down. When lightening strikes a tree, firewood usually results. Not in this case. Two entrepreneurial Portlanders decided to use that tree to start an adventure, that would go on to become a business – and Urban Timberworks was born.
Today, Urban Timberworks (UTW) is busily closing the loop on urban wood waste. Given the highly variable nature of urban trees, both in size, quality, and species, a majority of urban wood ends up in landfills or as mulch, which is neither a responsible use of a valuable natural resource nor respectful of Oregon’s rich timber history. UTW specializes in salvaging felled trees from the urban forest, milling these unique logs, and creating high value wood products. At the sawmill, log- and lumberyard on SE 4th Ave, UTW both stores and mills the salvaged logs. With three mills and space to air-dry milled wood, the operation is highly efficient. UTW has built relationships with an array of service providers to perform complete wood processing services, from harvesting to milling to kiln drying and finishing.
On the tour, hosted by Joolz Moorcroft, UTW Log Whisperer and Yard Manager, you will learn about the diverse array of wood products that come from Portland’s urban forest and how to work with UTW either in salvaging and milling or in procuring materials. Joolz inspects each tree, oversees all milling work, and works with designers and builders to find the best wood products for their projects.
