The rise of urban logging

It's always a bit sad to watch an old and seemingly healthy tree come down. But if it must, it's great to do something useful with it. This 110 year old pine tree in Chelsea, Quebec that was looming over two homes started to show signs of rot. With a new building project slated to go right underneath it, it was time to take it down.

Where an old garage stood was soon to be the location of a studio / workshop, so rather than dispose of the wood from this tree and go buy more, Brian Blak and Colleen Mahoney had a portable mill come and turn the tree into usable materials for their future building project.

Despite being in a wooded neighbourhood on a large lot, allowed to fall on its own this tree could have landed on any one of 3 homes.

To take it down safely took an entire day with 2 people on the ground, one climber and a crane. The first section removed (the crown) weighed in impressively at just over 8 thousand pounds.

当它被安全地放下，并切割成易于操作的大小，树被磨成8x8的主要支撑结构和地板和装饰板。经过两年的风干后，大部分木材被运到当地的一家工厂，制成榫槽地板。其余部分由业主(在他们的新车间)加工完成，作为底板和装饰材料。

Some of the wood was used for benches and end tables, while bark covered slabs were turned into outdoor easy chairs. Even neighbours made use of some pieces, using stumps as footstools and tables, and turning hollow rotted limb sections into planters.

除了这棵树，旧车库的材料也被用于新项目。地板上的胶合板被切割成条状用作绑带，而椽子成为车间的架子。

Exterior clapboard from the garage became the interior finish for one of the walls. That along with exterior styled lighting gives you the feeling of sitting outside, which can be a helpful delusion during a long Canadian winter.

像这样的项目需要远见、计划和耐心。材料被收集并储存在他们的院子里，同时木材被晾干，计划被敲定。总之，这个项目的大部分材料不仅来自当地，而且来自建筑工地5英尺内。

The whole process of building this backyard studio (which Brian and Colleen have dubbed the treehouse) has drawn in many curious and inspired neighbours who have walked away with bits of this locally infamous tree for their own projects.

回收材料不仅节省了金钱和自然资源，还能激励其他人这样做。所以，建造绿色建筑，并展示它。

如果你有一棵树必须被砍倒，但你没有地方碾压它，有树木回收公司会确保它最终成为建筑材料，而不是垃圾填埋场。这样做不一定能帮你省钱或赚钱，但你至少可以知道你的树有了用武之地。

Brian and Chairman Meow © Colleen Mahoney

Finished studio using reclaimed materials and tree milled on site © Colleen Mahoney