Tulsa Man Making Debris Look Beautiful

Since the ice storm, people have been rushing to cut down tree limbs, grind them up and send them to the landfill. The News On 6's Steve Berg reports one Tulsa carpenter is saying not so fast.

Dean West is used to thinking differently. After all, he probably has the only urban lumber mill in Tulsa. And where others just saw a mess after the ice storm, he saw top-notch timber being obliterated.

"We thought, what are we doing, y'know?  We need to grab a hold of this and try to make good use out of it," said West of Timber Solutions International.

It might seem odd at first, but other than its surroundings, a city tree is no different than a forest tree.

"Pecan, hickory, oak, we actually have quite a few desirable trees in this area," said West.

One of the first trees he tried to salvage had already been chopped up near 31st and Lewis and was about to be hauled off.

"I said wait, let's save those and let us turn it and let us turn that into something.  We didn't have any idea what," said West.

The homeowner, although a little skeptical, gave him a picture of a table she liked.

"She came up last week and looked at it and was just astounded by what she ended up with," said West.

He says they can make furniture, cabinets, just about anything. He says you can even make use of most of the softwood trees.

"Y'know last resort, I'd say you could always do decorative beam work or something that's just for looks," said West.

West says he trying to talk the city into letting him take some of the debris from parks and make it into benches.

"We're kinda late in the game, but we're early enough to get a handle on what's left and try to salvage what we can," said West.

Like any custom furniture, it's expensive, so it's not for everybody. But if you're in the market, and you want to be environmental, the answer might be right in your front yard.

Timber Solutions International is located at 1515 W. Archer St. For more information call (918) 599-0338.