On March 24, 2023, with the help of N.C. State’s Wood Products Division, we will be applying for a U.S.D.A. Forest Service’s Wood Products Innovation Grant. Our grant proposal maps the resources we need to launch the Triangle Urban Wood Utilization Program. It includes the following five elements:

1/5: Conduct Research Study

The Triangle Urban Wood Utilization Program’s first step is to identify metrics by which we will determine if the initiative is successful: Should we measure board feet diverted from landfills, general participation, affordable homes built, and/or construction budgets reduced? Toward this end, the initial phase will require NC State’s Wood Products Division and Fireside Lumber Company to finalize the research study’s parameters. Our findings will be concluded in a research paper to be published at the end of the project. After these research parameters are drafted, we’ll bring in the stakeholders– the arborists, universities, municipalities, sawyers, and more who will make the program work. Through virtual meetings at the beginning and middle of the study, we’ll determine what obstacles and opportunities arise in the program.

The key to the Triangle Urban Wood Utilization Program is its ample supply of sawlogs. Nothing can happen without an influx of raw material. The current difficulty that arborists, excavators, and municipalities are having with urban wood can be alleviated if they all had access to a commercial-scale log truck. Instead of leasing one in common -and figuring out shared maintenance- it makes sense for a log truck to be maintained and run by a private company with a vested interest in their success. Fireside Lumber Company’s log truck is the key to helping all local stakeholders.

A millwork shop designed for manufacturing building products is the crucial link between Chapel Hill-Durham’s urban lumber problem and those value-added products that can be incorporated into affordable homes. With some planning, the machines and workflows can be built specifically to produce value-added wood products that local builders need now. Many of these products, such as siding, are being sold now through Fireside Lumber Company. The proposed changes to upfit the Fireside shop improves upon these sales channels and allows for more value-added items– shiplap, trim, countertops, etc. Our program proposes to upgrade Fireside’s shop into one that is building product-centered.

The key to supporting affordable home builders is to seamlessly supply them with lumber. This means loading them easily when they pick up and being able to deliver lumber to job sites. Toward this end, our program envisions adding a forklift and flatbed truck.

In 2021, we added a Nyles L200 Dehumidification kiln to our operation. Once we start selling more building products, we predict that our sales volume will require an additional kiln.