Watch the incredible journey of reclaimed wood that sparked Choose to Reuse and deepened our commitment to ending construction waste.
Exquisite Surfaces, a flooring company based in Los Angeles, has created the Choose to Reuse program because of their concern that common installation methods may result in the inability for their floors to be reclaimed/reused in the future.
This initiative sets out to examine alternative methods for future floor installations, and extend the life span of Exquisite Surfaces’ flooring for generations to come.
1
Climate Control chambers
Exquisite surfaces built 3 ‘Hoop Houses’ for control of ambient relative humidity (RH). These Chambers are approximately 12 feet wide, 20 feet long, and 8 feet high at the highest point.
2
MOCKUPS
Exquisite surfaces personnel selected 132 pieces of french oak flooring for creation of flooring mock-ups. floors were then installed within the hoop houses.
3
Assessment of stability
Portable heaters and dehumidifiers were placed in each hoop house and run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to condition the flooring to a low moisture content.
4
Reclaimability
All floors were deconstructed manually using hammers, crowbars and a screw gun. When appropriate, personnel used stopwatches to record the time to remove the flooring as well and visually observed the yield of usable material.
From architects to designers to developers
to installers, to homeowners; together we can end the waste and preserve the wonder.
Choose to Reuse and become part of the solution today.
To follow Choose to Reuse and receive updates on our progress