Repeat after us: shou sugi ban. Devised as a way to make wood less susceptible to fire and to keep away insects and rot, this longstanding Japanese method involves torching your building materials. The results are long lived and hauntingly beautiful. And the good news is that charred wood is now widely available for domestic use. Here are 13 examples of charred wood put to use (for both interiors and exteriors) and where to buy it.
Above: US lumber retailers of late have begun to specialize in shou sugi ban. Shown here, a sampling of the shou sugi ban finishes offered by Delta Millworks, in Texas, which specializes in burned woods, among other offerings, and works directly with private and commercial clients. Another provider is reSawn Timber Co. of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. In the UK, Shou-Sugi-Ban supplies, designs, and installs shou sugi ban cladding, flooring, and wall coverings in colors that it compares to “the dying embers of a log fire and the charred effects of a burnt wooden board.” Above: Charred cypress for use as siding, fencing, decking, and flooring. Photograph from reSawn Timber Co. Above: Delta Millworks and reSawn Timber Co. specialize in using cypress, as well as yellow pine and vertical grain Douglass fir, all grown in the southern US and treated with variety of burned finishes. Above: Yashu, a charred cypress, for interior and exterior applications from reSawn Timber Co. Above: ReSawn Timber Co.‘s Kujaku cypress with a subtle char.
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