Design values open up uses for

IX/ITH recent certification of its engineering design specify cypress for any type of home building or ofi ice construction project, "

Y V values, cypress is now a choice for an even wider range o[ bui lding' appl ications.

Pem Jenkins, Turn Bull Lumber Co., Elizabethtown, N.C., says the certification of design values is a boon to those who sell and specify cypress. "Architects and builders can now specify cypress for any type of home building or office construction project," he said. "That means lumber dealers can stock and sell cypress knowing that it is universally approved for exposed beams and other structural applications. Of course, cypress has always been popular for exterior siding, as well as for interior paneling, millwork and mouldings."

Jenkins is president of the Southern Cypress Manufacturers Association. SCMA worked closely with Wood Advisory Services, a lumber industry consulting and testing group, to establish design values for cypress for a variety of stresses, including bending, tension parallel to grain, shear parallel to grain, modulus of elasticity and others.

Last month, the American Lumber Standards Committee and the Southern Pine Inspection Bureau officially certified these values.

Al DeBonis, president of Wood Advisory Services, says that the publication of these values has f'ar-reaching consequences for lumber dealers, as well as architects, builders and homeowners who want to feature cypress in their homes and projects.

"Once these values are accepted by the ALSC, they are immediately acknowledged as reference by all BOCA codes," he explained. "Prior to the publication of these values, the ability to use cypress for any structural application was subject to the whims of the local building official. Now these values are certified, they are official and they are automatically accepted anywhere in the country."

The cypress design values will soon be published in the Supplement to the National Design Specification for Wood Construction, the wood specification bible of the architectural and building communities, which is published by the

American Forest & Paper Association.

Joseph Wieronski, AIA, a partner with Askew Nixon Ferguson Architects, Memphis, Tn., recently featured cypress in the new headquarters his firm designed for Martco, a diversified forest products company in Alexandria, La.

"Having design numbers definitely makes cypress easier to specify," he said. "It's a great wood and we really enjoyed working with it. I think these design values will encourage a lot more people to think about cypress."

DeBonis believes the publication of the new cypress design values could not have come at a better time. "In working with the Forest Products Laboratory on this project, they told me that the number one inquiry they get is for design values for cypress," he said. "That tells me a lot of people want to use it. Now, they can."

Bill Bell, president of Kempfer Sawmill, a cypress manufacturer in St. Cloud, Fl., also believes this will help cypress expand its niche relative to cedar, redwood and pressure treated pine.

"A lot of people are looking at cypress as an alternative. Not only is it affordable and available, but it's a beautiful and durable wood. too." he said.

For more information on cypress or to get your own copy of the new cypress design values, visit www.cypressinfo.org or call 1-877-607-SCMA (7262\.