T & G is turning lemons into lemonade with its Pine Kill Beetle Flooring.
Colorado's pine forests are under attack. The culprit? A rice-sized beetle that burrows underneath bark to breed and feed. The effects? Myriad, one being hazardous dead pine stands that can fuel forest fires. The solution? Thin the stands. But what to do with all of those felled dead pine trees? Denver-based T & G Hardwood Floor Specialists is turning them into flooring; its Pine Beetle Kill Flooring is one of the most queried products at www.tandgflooring.com. "Beautiful parts of the Rocky Mountains are just covered with dead pine trees, and it's a real issue, from resort real estate to the fire damage opportunity it presents," says T & G owner Chris Keale. The tiny beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae, introduces in the tree bluestain fungus, which stains the pine's sapwood and eventually kills the tree. This fungus is what gives Pine Beetle Kill Flooring its distinct appearance. "It's very gorgeous and it has a dramatic palette," Keale says. T & G offers both ¾-inch lodgepole and Ponderosa Pine Beetle Kill Flooring; the products are available with beveled or square edges, in variable-width bundles of 3½, 5½ and 7½ inches, and recently T & G added a prefinished option. Now, even hardwood flooring buyers can help prevent forest fires.
The rice-sized mountain pine beetle has decimated Colorado's pine stands.
