Photo by Deborah Frieze
SALVAGED MATERIALS
The Old Oak Dojo is filled with salvaged and re-purposed materials that tell a story. The decking for the stairs came from the roof of a pool in Watertown, the floors from a paper mill in Lawrence, the frame from a movie set on the North Shore.
Perhaps the best re-use story is the cubbies that we cobbled together from the ceiling boards of the old garage, a storage unit from Deborah’s parents’ house and an ancient upright piano left behind by the previous owner.
REGIONAL MATERIALS
The Living Building Challenge (LBC) requires careful sourcing and selection of materials to reduce toxicity as well as decrease waste generated through transportation and construction. Materials must be sourced regionally, which in most cases means within 350 miles. All our non-salvaged wood materials were harvested and milled in New Hampshire. Metal products arrived here from no farther than Ohio. Concrete and Gypsum products were all from New England. Some specialty products, such as high performance doors and windows, were from outside our region but approved by LBC.