Centennial Woods

By Samantha Goldberg

Centennial Wood in the naturally aged Laramie finish.

Developers looking to use sustainable products that are also aesthetically appealing need to look no further than Centennial Woods, an innovative Wyoming-based company that has been providing sustainable materials to architects, contractors and retailers since 1991. In the firm’s home state, hundreds of miles of snow fences line Wyoming’s highways to make travel safer in the state’s harsh, long winters. The company got its start when it realized the harsh weather elements turned the snow fences into sustainable, weathered wood that could be used in commercial and residential projects. Before Centennial Woods began harvesting the snow fence, older boards were burned or thrown into landfills when replaced. By reclaiming the wood, Centennial Woods has avoided more than 16,000 tons of carbon emissions.

The wood from these fences is naturally weathered from seven to 15 years as slats of 12-foot-tall snow fences. The reclaimed wood is 100 percent recycled, offering unique colors and grain patterns that also help owners satisfy Credits MR3, MR4 and MR5 under LEED when pursuing certification. The wood is untreated and never exposed to lead paint, ensuring that no harmful VOCs, insects or other contaminants enter one’s home or business.

Centennial Woods offers its products in a range of finishes, including Laramie, Cheyenne, Cody, Wheatland, Yellowstone and Sundance, which come from natural aging, light sanding or customization by the firm’s in-house craftsmen.

The firm has grown to be one of the largest providers of reclaimed wood in the world and has repurposed more than 12 million feet of snow fence wood for use as interior feature walls, flooring, exterior walls and furniture.

For an inside look into Centennial Woods’ process of reclaiming wood, see the video above.

Photos and video courtesy of Centennial Woods