The Green Oak Initiative is a proposal by the University of
Tennessee to develop contemporary green (un-dried) oak construction techniques
for the US building market. Because many
of the “heart-centers” of hardwood logs have defects that limit their usefulness
for traditional dry lumber products, this portion of the log is routinely sold
green (un-dried) as “cants” used to manufacture shipping pallets – an extremely
low-grade use for such an otherwise highly desirable resource. This initiative will
allow currently underutilized heart-centers of logs to be used as an extremely
low energy, carbon friendly, beautiful, and high value wood product for structural
members in sustainable buildings. The
research found will be applied to a comprehensive “green” demonstration project
for a UT extension 4-H camp complex in West Tennessee. This blog
is a part of the initiative by documenting the research and design project
which can provide the critical information for adopting the proposed use of
green oak in future projects.
