Poplar Bark Panel Wall Coverings

No more than one in a thousand trees will yield an uncracked sheet of bark large enough to become a continuous 3-D textured poplar bark panels. Harvested with environmentally friendly practices and attention to timing, using methods created exclusively at Bark House® – poplar bark is a reclaimed waste product of the logging industry.  The Bark House® 5-point quality control protocol ensures precision in manufacturing.  Application techniques should be followed precisely to make these poplar bark panels.

Due to limb scars, epicormic knots, growth stress, bird peck, and lightning scars, no two luxury poplar bark panels are ever alike. Textural variances give each sheet its own unique identity.  The distinct colors that flow from the north side to the south side of the bark also reveal the direction the tree faced throughout its lifetime.  As an interior wall covering, the rich 3-D textured poplar wood wall covering panels are only matched by its acoustic and insulation values.  There is no substitute for nature’s beauty in a living space.

Poplar Bark Wall Covering is the world’s first and only product to have achieved a Cradle to Cradle® Platinum Level Certification (2017 – 2018) Gold (2007 – 2017).  The certification is wholistic and rigorous in scope with third party verification of material health, material reutilization, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship, and social fairness.

These poplar wood wall covering panels are 100% sourced and made in the US.  Bark House® invests over 50% of its income directly back into our local Appalachian economy.  See what makes us Authentically good…

Poplar Bark Panel Wall Coverings are new to me.  What do I need to know?

What is a Bark House® Poplar Panel?

A Bark House® Poplar Panel is a large full cylinder of bark unrolled from the full height of a single log. Great care must be used when cutting, removing, and transporting the raw sheet. They are quickly cleaned, flattened, sterilized, dried and squared. These are rare, and incredibly unique pieces of bark.

Are poplar bark panels a rustic, modern or a high-design product?

Poplar bark is the perfect material for every design style.  The muted tones juxtapose and add natural elements in commercial environments; they blend with natural hues and they add a focal point to bring a multitude of surfaces into context.

Why can’t I order more than one of the poplar panels that I like?

Because these are harvested from individual trees, there is only one of each panel that you see in our inventory catalog. No two panels are ever the same as they are all unique entities. You may find panels with similar characteristics if its your goal to make multiple units match up in color and texture. Details and photos of each panel can be viewed on our online catalog.

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Do poplar bark panels have a standard dimension?

We standardize the heights of our panels, but the widths are random sizes. Because of the rarity of these panels, we try to maximize the size of each one that is harvested. Panel heights will be in one-foot increments from 6-12 feet. Widths will range from 24” to 96”.

Are the panels perfectly square?

We do our best to square the panels, and they should be within a 1/4” diagonal tolerance. If your installation requires perfectly squared panels, you should be prepared for onsite trimming for fit. We generally leave them a half inch greater than listed in height and width to give room for adjustment.

Can poplar bark panels be used outside?

Bark House® Poplar Panels can be used in an exterior application if they are laminated to an exterior-grade substrate. This is a custom fabrication process, so please reach out to [email protected] or (828) 765-9010 to learn more.

How are Bark House® Poplar Panels installed?

Bark House® Poplar Panels should be installed using a combination of panel adhesive and mechanical fasteners. Z-clips and other panel hanging techniques may also be used if the panels are laminated to a substrate. Please see our installation guide for detailed information. 

Can Bark House cut the poplar panels for me?

We can make basic cuts on your panel for a small fee before it is shipped to you . If you need to cut them yourself, use the same techniques that you would normally use for finish-cutting any other wood panel.

Can a finish be applied to Bark House® Poplar Panels?

Finishes can be applied to your panel order if you choose to, and are priced by the total square footage. Surface planing and sanding as well as a diverse group of finishes are available for these panels. Custom work is also possible. “If you can dream it, we can do it.”

How do I clean interior poplar bark panels?

Interior wall tiles can be dusted or vacuumed like any other wall covering, but be careful with the mosses and lichens!

Are poplar bark panels fragile?

You should use great care when unloading your panels upon delivery. While they are sturdy, rough or unbalanced handling can damage the panels. It is important to have at least two people to handle a panel. We repair major stress fractures with mesh tape and epoxy before making available for sale, but smaller superficial surface cracks may still exist on the backside of the panels.

What are the different grades of poplar panels?

The only difference between Interior, Standard, and Premium Grade bark is the thickness of the material. Interior Grade will range from 3/8”- 1/2”, Standard Grade will range from 9/16″-7/8″, while Premium Grade will range from 15/16″-1 1/2″.

How do I order Bark House® Poplar Bark Panels?

If you have selected the panels that you are interested from our catalog, reach out to Bark House for pricing and shipping information. We can also help you select panels based on your project requirements.

Shop Our Current Inventory

Is there a standardized cost for bark panels?

Each Bark House® Poplar Panel is a unique piece that tells the story of a specific tree. These panels may show evidence of limb scars, vine marks, bird peck, or other natural features. The texture of the bark will vary, as well as the amount of mosses and lichens present. Our pricing will differ based on a panel’s grade, dimensions, and unique features. Please reach out to [email protected] or (828) 765-9010 for pricing information.

Are poplar bark panels in stock?

Poplar bark is harvested during a narrow window each year between May and July. Our availability will depend on the time of year and the size of that year’s harvest. We stock panels each year during the bark harvesting season. If you see a panel in our catalog, then it is available in our warehouse and for sale.

Can bark panels be laminated to a substrate?

Bark House Poplar Panels can be epoxy laminated to ½” or greater MDF substrate to simplify your installation. Lamination will add rigidity to your panel, and we can laminate sizes up to 5’ x 12’.

Are poplar bark panels kiln dried?

Panels are kiln dried while they are still fresh off a tree. Each panel that you order has been kiln dried to 8 to 10% moisture content and organic sterilization level in our custom engineered kilns.

Do you offer a warranty on Bark House® Poplar Panels?

Because these panels are a natural product, we are unable to offer a warranty on them. If you have concerns about their durability in a certain application, please reach out to [email protected].

Are Bark House® Poplar Panels rated for fire resistance?

Poplar panels have been tested to be a ASTM E-84-05 Class B Fire Rated, and a detailed report is available upon request.

How are Bark House® Poplar Panels shipped?

These panels are shipped laid flat on a crated pallet. We are able to stack multiple panels for a shipment, and they will be protected with a layer of foam between each piece.

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Cost and quality are important to me.  How do Bark House® Poplar Bark Panels save me money and supply a better-quality product?

What are the economic benefits I receive when purchasing from the “Original Manufacturer of Bark Wall Coverings”?

Our bark grading process ensures that thicknesses are consistent and perfectly square. These measures allow for rapid on-site installation, saving you time and money.

Once installed, our panels require no maintenance. If you want to dust or vacuum them, just be mindful of the mosses and lichens!

The Bark House Difference 

Does Bark House offer a trade or volume discount?

We are unable to offer volume discounts on poplar panels due to the rarity of the product, but many of our distributors do offer trade discounts.

How much will my bark panel order cost to ship?

Bark Panels are shipped in the most economical way possible for the size of your order. Most shipments will be done via Less Than Truckload (LTL) freight, and the cost will depend on your order size and shipping location.  We are happy to provide you with a quote.  

Sample Kits Available

I am creating a one-of-a-kind space.  How can Bark House support my vision?

Can I customize the poplar panels?

Product Options makes your fit and customization finish unique.  As you scroll down on our Bark House® Poplar Panel page you will get to choose your thickness, height, and multiple finish options.  If you need this product laminated to a substrate for your specific application, we can do that too!

What makes the bark panel wall coverings distinctly mine?

Each panel is a unique part of an individual tree. The nature of the product ensures that no two are alike. You can browse our current inventory here to find the panels that will be best suited for your project.

We work with architects and designers all over the globe to create unique product applications that have contributed to award winning designs. We welcome the opportunity to do so with you.

Can Bark House help me to share my unique project with others?

Projects with Bark House products have been featured in over 250 well-positioned media outlets and featured in our blogs.  We want to celebrate the completion of your project.  

Share your project with us

I am interested in regenerative manufacturing practices.  What benefits do Bark House processes create for Appalachian forests, families, and climate-change remediation?

How does Regenerative Development benefit communities?

“When a practitioner of Regenerative Development works in a project or community, the result should be increasing ableness for that community. People should become better able to evolve and pursue the aspirations they hold for healthy and meaningful lives. Water and air should be increasingly able to maintain their quality, and forests to support enlarged diversity of life. These are the indicators that real value has been delivered to stakeholders.” www.Regenerat.es

Podcast with The Carol Sanford Institute:  Regenerative Work

What is green, sustainable or regenerative manufacturing?

The single skilled craftsman encompassed the earliest form of making products.  Training was personal and the tradesmen took pride in their work and the benefits it produced.  A post-industrial world saw the use of machinery, increased scale and a trend toward practices that were Extractive to people and planet.  Recognizing a need for change and making a choice to do better, manufacturers improved their processes and identified themselves as “GREEN companies”.  With an aim to do “less bad”, and quantify what better should look like with agreed measurements, companies were certified through third-party groups as SUSTAINABLE.  Companies with a REGENERATIVE aim were either founded with this mission, or made conscious choices to work to create new and fitting potential for the places they operate and the sectors they disrupt.  Regenerative design opens a new level of exploration.  It begins a process of wholistic, collaborative development.  This occurs in tandem with the natural world and the inhabitants of the places they work. 

“What if consumers became healers of the world?” – Chris McCurry speaks on environmental issues at the Leadership NC Conference in Asheville.

What are the green or regenerative benefits I receive when purchasing from the “Original Manufacturer of Bark Wall Coverings”?

We offer a thirty-year track record with over 250 well placed publications sharing our regenerative philosophy that is now and has always been the core-business for this company.  The co-founders designed the original products and processes, inspired by nature.  The products you purchase reach their highest achievement when supporting your regenerative projects.  Read more about the benefits below.  Feel free to contact us at [email protected] to ask questions or share your project details with us.      

MATERIAL SOURCING

Where is the wood sourced?

Bark House sources only Reclaimed Appalachian Wood Waste, (RAW™) from small 10-acre tracts owned and stewarded by local families over generations.

What benefit do you create when you only source materials from the Appalachian region?

The Bark House manufacturing facility is located within the five states across the Appalachian region in which our raw materials are sourced.  The co-founders were born here and understanding “Appalachia” as a place has been their life’s work.  Because this is our neighborhood, we take our impacts very personally.  The proximity means that our neighbors can let us know what we’re doing well and where we need to improve.  The benefits we are most proud of is helping to keep family farms intact and providing right-fit, nature-based jobs in this economically distressed area.  The legacy of US Forestry practices began in our back yard.  We aim to honor the philosophy of those practices by exceeding them.

What benefits are created from small-tract harvesting?

Whether select (most often) or clear-cutting, smaller tracts sparsely spaced throughout many Appalachian states means that the impact of harvesting is less disruptive to the living eco-system. Loggers provide materials from forty-five counties across five Appalachian states.

What benefits do smaller eco-logging crews offer?

Smaller 2-3 person crews with lighter equipment disturbs the soil less, so regrowth occurs faster.  Carefully felling and removing trees and following Forestry Best Management Practices protects the trees from scarring and invaders.  These practices are less disruptive to the living eco-system.

How does the Bark House^® process impact local watersheds?

• The company’s material procurement model utilizes small logging crews, with less equipment on small tracts and has a lighter impact on the environment
• Loggers are trained in water stewardship and have state governed logger certifications
• No water is used in direct manufacturing
• Bark House participates in water stewardship initiatives, stream bank restoration and stream protection initiatives to improve water quality in the Appalachian Region
• We advocate for and educate about clean water
• We monitor Government Reporting on watersheds where our materials are sourced

What else is Bark House involved in to improve Appalachian forests and impact climate change remediation?

You can read about all our engagements over thirty years in real-time accounts published in the EmBark Blog and over 250 acclaimed publications. Right now, we are working to support a Regenerative Source Guild of the Blue Ridge.

MANUFACTURING

How does your investment in Solar Panels impact your Carbon Footprint?

Solar panels replace our electricity as one important component in the total carbon equation to manufacture a low carbon product.

How does Bark House’s unique kilns impact your Carbon Footprint?

High efficiency kilns designed by co-founder Marty McCurry exclusively for the complex process of drying bark are the first and only kilns of their kind.  They received the NC Governor’s Green Innovation Award and are one important component in the total carbon equation to manufacture a low carbon product.

Do poplar bark panel wall coverings qualify for LEED building practices?

Bark House veneer wall coverings may qualify for LEED points based on locally or regionally sourced product.

SOCIAL BENEFITS

What financial benefits does Bark House create for Appalachian families?

At a minimum, 50% of annual company income is invested directly in to the local community.  As a comparison, big box stores invest 12% in the local communities where they operate.  Products are 100% sourced and made in the Appalachians.  We purchase wood-waste products from land owners that are not acceptable in the standardized industry because of figure, curl or massive size.  Employees are paid a living wage as a starting point.  Importantly, a new income stream for this economically challenged area means that family farms can remain intact.

How does Bark House support the culture of the Appalachian region?

Bark House supports cultural diversity, equity and inclusion.  These attributes can be traced in Appalachian culture before European settlement began and as it occurred.  Cultural diversity is inspired by the region’s vast bio-diversity of flora and fauna.  One thing this culture of independent people agree on is an appreciation for nature.  Bark House work supports people to retain this close relationship with nature.  Our volunteer work and community contributions center on further developing this relationship.

What verification can you offer that supports your social benefits?

Bark House believes in shared prosperity and we can back up our claim of social benefits with the certifications and awards that we’ve received:

• We maintained a B Corp Certification over a ten year period earning Best for the World Awards.
• Bark House was the first and only (to date) to receive a Platinum grade from Cradle to Cradle across all platforms.
• We are considered a Buckminster Fuller Catalyst Company.
• We received a Regenerative Business Award.
• The Department of Commerce presented Spruce Pine Main Street with a Design Award for the Main Street Pocket Park and Visitor’s Center. This project is one that we spent years volunteering our time and resources to and we couldn’t be prouder of the outcome.
• In 2016, Bark House was an Architectural Record Product of the Year Winner.
• Root Cause honored us with the 2017 Support of Local Wood Product Award in recognition of our efforts in promoting local forest products and supporting jobs in the forest products industry.
• We may not have been on the prestigious John Ruskin Prize shortlist, but we were among the top 5%.
• Other certifications and awards can be viewed on the certification page

What social benefits do bark panels offer beyond the Appalachian region?

Bark House views the development of a relationship that honors nature as critically important, especially in view of a disrupted climate.  Our wall coverings go into the space where people spend most of their time (indoors) and provide a gentle invitation to remember those healing, invigorating moments outdoors – in a forest.

Can Bark House help me to share the benefits that my project creates with others?

Projects with Bark House products have been featured in over 250 well-positioned media outlets as well as being featured in our blog.  We want to celebrate the benefits your project is creating for people or the environment.

Share your project with us

If you have further questions for us, please reach out to [email protected].

We look forward to working with you!

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