Antique Appeal
By Gabrielle Saveri

If you’re stepping into the Green home building or remodeling arena, you’ll probably need to know about FSC-certified lumber and Green products. One local expert is Jackel Enterprises, Inc., a specialty lumberyard in Watsonville that has been providing high-quality lumber materials and milling services to craftsmen, builders, and homeowners for over 17 years.

The company—which sells high-grade softwoods from California and the northwest, and exotic woods from all over the world—was recently certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for the second time and acknowledged by the SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance as a chain-of-custody company, making Jackel Enterprises one of the most environmentally friendly lumber companies in California.

Jackel Enterprises is well-known for its Box Beams—faux timber beams manufactured primarily with Douglas fir or other wood species. “The Box Beam is a fabricated three-sided mill product that’s meant to clad an ugly steel member or to visually enhance a room’s particular style,” says company president Steve Jackel. “It’s especially great for a Spanish- or Mediterranean-style home where the work simulates antique timbers.”

In addition to covering up unsightly steel members or an exposed structural timber, the unique Box Beams also provide a channel for lighting, wiring, and sprinklers, and they’re available in a wide selection of textures and finishes. “Each Box Beam is custom-made to your specifications, so you can get them the exact size you want,” explains Steve, noting that the Box Beams can be made up to 50 feet long, and 20 x 30 inches wide. “Plus the beams are relatively easy to install.” In 2008, Jackel Enterprises will be offering lumber in high-grade cedar from a special certified resource on Vancouver Island. The company deals primarily with contractors, but homeowners are also welcome shoppers, as are architects and designers. All Box Beams are made to order and take two to six weeks for production.

The best part about Box Beams, however, is that they’re eco friendly. Because they’re a three-sided box rather than a solid beam, they use less wood to achieve the desired effect. Soon wood used for the Box Beams will be FSC certified, meaning there is a chain of accountability that allows the consumer to trace the wood all of the way back to the sustainable forest from which it came.

Jackel Enterprises first got into the box beam business over five years ago when Steve was doing solid timberwork using recycled wood for various projects. A client came in one day with a problem covering up a steel beam and asked what could be done. Jackel’s millshop brainstormed and came up with the Box Beam. Then another client came in asking for the same thing but with a faux hand-hewn finish on it. “We retrofitted his whole house, and soon discovered there was a market for this,” recalls Steve.

For Steve, who began his woodworking career making musical instruments, the focus has always been on interesting and high-quality materials. “While the model has changed considerably since I first started, I have always believed sustainability is something that should be successful in lasting for generations. By using good wood products, you can achieve that level of sustainability.”

Steve truly appreciates nature and says it’s the obligation of the craftsman to transform each tree into an object that’s going to be a special part of someone’s life. “We’re different from other lumber companies,” he says. “The Japanese temple builders had the theory—take a thousand-year-old tree, cut it down, build a temple that will last a thousand years, and plant a new tree. That’s sustainability. That’s the energy we want to put into our work."