» How Many Trees Does it Take to Build a 2000 Square Foot Home and Other Amazing Facts

How Many Trees Does it Take to Build a 2000 Square Foot Home and Other Amazing Facts

How many trees does it take to build a home? I had no idea that if you build a 2000 square foot home, it would require 26,700 board feet! This number just blew me away. One 20 inch, 42 foot long tree will produce about 260 board feet, a small fraction of what you would need to build one home. So if you are building this 2000 square foot home, it will take 102 trees.

This explains why you see these swaths of trees clear cut on the mountains around here when you take off on an airplane. Take a look the next time you take off from SeaTac. Many of these trees are going to be used to build homes all over the world.

A recent article in the Seattle Times talked about how much wood, concrete, glass, etc. it takes to build a standard home. It amazes me that we have not run out of natural materials thus far. It certainly puts building green way up there for consideration.

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http://greenbayinsurance.blogspot.com Laverne

Good words.
http://www.debrasinick.com Debra Sinick

Thanks for your comment and for stopping by!
http://www.byanydesign.com John Whipple

That is a lot of trees!

Have you confirmed this number from another source?

I want to plant enough trees to replace the common lumber (Spruce and Fir), Hardwood floors (American Oak) and Millwork. I added an additional 1000 square feet to my home and I’m sure with the extra beams I’m in that same 100 tree mark.

Thanks for the information, I best get digging…
http://www.debrasinick.com Debra Sinick

Hi John,

I did not confirm this from another source, but took it from the Seattle Times article. “A typical 2,000-square-foot house, which requires 26,700 board feet to build, would mean using 102 trees of that size, according to the Idaho Forest Products Commission.” I may be wrong, but I figured the Idaho Forest Products Commission the paper quoted would be a good source!

I think it is great you are hoping to replace the trees you used in your remodel. What a terrific idea. I commend you for it, but suggest you better start digging! Good luck.