Don't buy lauan

I didn't even know what lauan was when I bought a 24" door now used in the garage in 1993.  (It was inconveniently cut down to 16" by the carpenter my mother hired.)  I figured it was a style of door, the lauan doors were flat, and you could also (and still can) buy solid core lauan doors at big box stores.  So I figured a lauan door was a flat door, flat and 1" thick, a nice thick door.

I was thinking of getting one of those for the King's room.

But now I find that lauan is basically imported tropical hardwood, often old growth wood extracted unsustainably and dumped on world markets.  It should be avoided.  Of course, big box stores have heavily sold this cheap but unsustainable product.

There is a list of sustainable alternatives.

Rob conveniently didn't ever get the closet shelf he promised several times.  Fine.  I'm going to get something different than the usual particle board, plywood, painted or melamine coated.  Any of those is like putting a toxic waste dump in your closet, since the glues are almost certainly formaldehyde based.

Many closet shelves are made of louvered wood.  I want something of unquestionable strength.

So, I contacted local hardwood dealer and plan to get custom piece of solid maple from North American sources.

Strong, beautiful, lasts forever, and so non-toxic you could cut food on it.