Colorado Ash: City Trees That Make Hard, Beautiful Wood

Most of the ash we mill comes from city trees. Montrose, Delta and Grand Junction have all sent us ash logs, and most of those trees died from the lilac ash borer, a pesky little bugger. What is left after the tree comes down is some of the hardest, strongest wood we cut.

The hardest of our hardwoods

Ash is the hardest and strongest of the hardwoods we mill, about twice as hard as Douglas fir. That makes it a natural for floors, trim, furniture and anything that has to take a beating. If you want a hardwood floor from local trees, ash belongs on the short list. Flooring should be dried down to about 6 to 8% before it is installed, or it will keep shrinking and open gaps.

The lilac ash borer

The lilac ash borer is a clearwing moth that looks a lot like a paper wasp. Its larvae tunnel into the trunk and lower branches of ash trees, usually near the base, and those tunnels weaken the tree until limbs start breaking in storms. That is why so many ash trees in our valley towns end up coming down, and why we get the logs.

What about emerald ash borer?

Emerald ash borer is the one that has killed ash trees across the country. In Colorado it is on the Front Range and was confirmed in Carbondale in 2023, but it has not been found here yet. The Colorado State Forest Service asks people not to move ash firewood or untreated ash wood products, and milling ash into lumber is an approved way to use it.

Have an ash coming down?

If a city or yard ash is coming out, save the trunk long and give us a call. We can mill it for you, and it can come back as a floor, a table or a headboard instead of a firewood pile.