All of our handmade products are made from recycled trees that had to come down from homes or developments. However, to recycle a tree, it must be removed properly by an arborist with the equipment and training to cut the tree into logs that can be repurposed.

We partner with a set of certified arborists and we can recommend you the best one based on your location, site access, and tree size to ensure the job is done well. All our certified partnering arborists will give you a discount for recycling the tree with us.

We recycle a wide range of urban species, including redwood, cedar, pine, cypress, oak, eucalyptus, and more. Trees must be at least 24 inches in diameter at “breast height” for us to recycle them. See how to measure at breast height.

The Tree Recycling & Reclamation Process

Products Made from Recycled Trees

Felling

We hate to see it happen, but trees are felled everyday for a variety of reasons. Some causes are natural including erosion, senescence, and wildfire while others are purely anthropogenic such as space for housing developments, invasive roots, and property damage. Whatever the reason, Bay Area Redwood works with partnering arborists to cut these trees into large segment upon removal. Once the tree is out of the ground, we haul it to our log recycling yard located in Livermore.

Milling & Curing

After logs are dropped at our facility, the manufacturing stages of the process begin. We start by milling each log into slabs or dimensional lumber, which are then stacked to optimize air flow for the drying process. Milled wood dries at varying rates depending on species, dimensions, and weather conditions, but it can cure at our facility for as long as 3 years before it is ready for finishing.