My husband and I recently bought a new house with the hope of fixing it and renting it out. We knew the house needed a lot of work when we bought it, but the price was right so we went for it. We were already a bit overwhelmed with the whole process of buying and financing an investment home in this lovely economy when we did a final inspection on the place two days before we were set to close on the house. And as our luck would have it, when we walked into the kitchen we walked into a wet mess. The kitchen sink had been leaking for the last few days and there were large puddles of water sitting on the floor. With only two days left to close we had a decision to make: continue with the purchase and sign our closing documents or put a halt on the closing and try to see if the bank would help us fix the problem. We decided to continue with the process as we didn’t want to risk losing the house, but now we had a mess to fix. The water had been sitting long enough to cause a tremendous amount of expansion in the MDF underlayment. Our first idea was to notch out the underlayment to see if we could relieve the expansion, however, the expansion was too great for the underlayment to settle. In the end, we ended out ripping out all the underlayment. And now, we are stuck with the task of purchasing new underlayment and reinstalling flooring. We were in the process of researching different underlayment options when one of our sales reps came in with a sample of NewWood.

NewWood is an composite construction material that is a totally green product comprised of 50% wood and 50% polyethylene plastic formed with heat and pressure into panels that are durable, insect-proof and virtually waterproof. NewWood has a wide variety of uses, similar to how plywood or plastic sheeting is used in everything from crating to home building. Because NewWood has a surface that is easy to clean and durable, it is a great substitute for wood materials anywhere it comes in contact with food, animals or humans. So fruit bins, commercial kitchen walls, pallets for food products, and barn or animal enclosures are perfect for NewWood. With a durable surface that has a UV inhibitor, NewWood can be used for exterior sheathing, trim boards and fencing. And for cases like mine, the  water and chemical resistant qualities of NewWood makes it a great underlayment in kitchens and baths where leaks are likely. Because NewWood’s surface face is a polyethylene film layer which resists water absorption and the recycled plastic in its core minimizes edge swell and water penetration at exposed edges NewWood swells far less than most all wood products when exposed to water or humidity. And my favorite part of all is that NewWood is a local product made here is Elma, Washington.

NewWood panels are now available in 4′ x 8′ sheets and are 7/16″ thick. The introductory price per sheet is $35. We are offering a $5 off coupon for up to 10 To view a sample of NewWood make sure you swing by the Millwork Outlet. NewWood boasts that because NewWood is durable, sanitary, water resistant, weather resistant, and insect resistant there are over 100 uses for their product. To see a list of all the suggested uses as well as additional information visit their website at www.newwood.com. We would love to hear (in the comments section below) if you have any ideas on how you can use NewWood on your next project.