Building a custom home takes a lot of natural resources. Wood framing, roof trusses, sheathing, trim, cabinetry, and more. As responsible builders, we think it’s important to build sustainably and give back when we can.
That’s why we plant at least 200 trees with every custom home we build, through trusted reforestation partners like One Tree Planted and the USDA Plant-A-Tree Program. No gimmicks, no complicated formulas. Just a straightforward commitment we make with every single project.
We’ve planted over 1,600 trees so far, and we’re just getting started.
How Many Trees Does It Take to Build a House?
You might be surprised. According to the Idaho Forest Products Commission, a typical 2,000 square foot home requires roughly 26,700 board feet of lumber. Board feet is essentially a way of determining how much actual wood material is in any given piece of lumber. In simple terms, a mature tree, about 20 inches wide and 42 feet long, yields approximately 260 board feet of usable material (lumber). That means it takes somewhere around 100 trees to frame and finish an average home.
That being said, every house is different, especially when it comes to custom builds. A 3,500 square foot custom home with detailed trim work and built-in cabinetry will use more than a smaller, more streamlined design. But 100 trees is a good baseline to understand the scale of what goes into building an average home.
That baseline is exactly why we commit to planting at least 200 trees with every project. For most homes, that means we’re putting back twice as much as we used.
Why We Do This
We’re a Certified Green Professional builder, and that designation isn’t just a line on our website. It shapes our company values and how we think about every project. Local material sourcing, energy-efficient design, thoughtful site planning, and yes, replanting trees.
We believe in doing what we can, honestly and consistently, with every home we build. It’s a small thing that adds up over time. And it feels right.
Our Goal: 5,000 Trees and Beyond
With over 1,600 trees planted to date, our next milestone is 5,000. Every project brings us closer. We track our total and share updates because we think transparency matters, especially when it comes to commitments like this.
When we reach 5,000, we’ll set a new goal. This isn’t a campaign with an end date. It’s just part of how we build.
Plant Trees With ARoy Builders
Want to be part of it? We’ll match your personal tree donation, up to 100 additional trees, during the construction of your home. If you donate 100 trees through a reforestation charity or plant them yourself, we’ll plant another 100 on top of our standard 200. That’s 400 trees planted in honor of your project.
It’s a meaningful way to start your new chapter knowing you’ve given something back.
Where Our Trees Go
We work with two partners to make sure our donations go where they’re needed most.
One Tree Planted is a nonprofit that plants trees across North America and around the world, focusing on areas impacted by wildfires, deforestation, and natural disasters. Every dollar plants one tree.
The USDA Plant-A-Tree Program supports reforestation on National Forest land. Donations go directly toward acquiring seedlings and covering planting costs, with trees typically going into the ground during the next planting season. We often direct donations to the White Mountain National Forest right here in New Hampshire.
We get great satisfaction from knowing we’re able to give back more than we use as we believe this positively offsets our overall environmental impact as a home builder. This is one way we can be sure that what we’re doing today will contribute to a better tomorrow.
