Shou Sugi Ban Is Chemical Free, Easier on the Planet

Traditionally, shou sugi ban is performed on cedar - sugi is the Japanese word for cedar. The process of shou sugi ban, done by hand, involves several steps. First, the wood is blackened or charred using fire. Then, it is cooled, and any soot or burnt debris is brushed off the surface. The boards are then finished with oil. Fire is often considered a destructive force when it comes to wood. Interestingly, it's the damage done during the charring process that makes shou sugi ban a sound and sustainable choice for buildings. 

Here's why. The charring process works at the cellular level, creating a carbon layer on the wood's surface. The char protects the interior wood like a stain or sealant. Shou sugi ban thus enhances wood's durability. It's a natural way to preserve wood without chemicals, paints, or other surface treatments. The carbonized wood is also waterproof. 

There's more, adds Jonathan Orpin, founder, and owner of Pioneer Millworks, a reclaimed and sustainable wood products company that also produces shou sugi ban. "In addition to putting a protective coating on the wood to minimize UV degradation," Orpin says, charring protects against insects, bacteria, and mold. "Functionally, shou sugi ban chars their dinner. We burn the front and back of our boards for these reasons." Here's a video on Pioneer Millworks' shou sugi ban process. 

Aside from the gas used during the charring process, shou sugi ban is environmentally friendly. There are few to zero chemicals present in the process and the resulting product. Moreover, shou sugi ban is wood, adds Orpin. "Is there any renewable resource with a lower carbon footprint than wood? Or with a higher embodied carbon? Wood rocks!" 

Over several weekends, with help from numerous friends, the Musichs placed hundreds of 1 x 6 cedar boards milled into a shiplap profile on concrete blocks. (You can also use metal sawhorses, McGuire suggests.) 

Aesthetic Impact of Shou Sugi Ban

Architects around the globe have been cladding houses—their own and their clients'—in shou sugi ban for several years. Because, in large part, of the striking aesthetic a black-clad home imparts. In a 2017 New York Times article, writer Amanda Fortini waxed poetic about a house designed by the New Haven, Connecticut firm Gray Organschi Architecture with Aaron Schiller, founder of the New York City-based Schiller Projects. 

The home, she writes, is clad using about 80 charred louvers that were burned by hand. She comments that the color looks both modern and ancient and is reminiscent of obsidian. Fortini also notes that the color is striking and that it seems to visibly shift, based on the weather and time of day. The house was clad in shou sugi ban. 

"It makes a stunning visual statement, with its depth of color and textured surface," says Orpin. His company, Pioneer Millworks, produces shou sugi ban in three finishes: deep char, color char, and shallow char. The company uses western larch, not cedar. He says that this is "because cedar is overharvested. Instead, we're using an underutilized species that does just as good a job as cedar, if not better."