Strategic Target

Raised wood floors constitute major market opportunity

hESPITE the current state of the I-fhousine market and overall economy, pockels of opportunity still exist for expanding wood product demand. One such strategic target is the raised wood floor market in the Gulf Coast region, where the risks of storm flooding and expansive soils make raised wood floors a natural choice over traditional concrete slab-on-grade construction.

The Southern Pine Council. APA. their member manufacturers, and other industry partners have been working together for months under a program called Raised Floor Living to deliver construction strategies, product support, and educational outreach to home builders and buyers in a broadbased effort to increase awareness, acceptance and use of raised wood floors, as well as other wood construction systems, from Texas to Florida to North Carolina.

Although SPC has promoted raised wood floors along the Gulf Coast and elsewhere for years, the system gained a major spike in interest and wood industry attention following the massive flooding and extensive property damage caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in late 2005. Compared with other options-such as concrete slab atop dirt fill, slab on backfilled perimeter wall, or ring levee-the raised floor system often is the most practical and cost-effective way to protect buildings and meet local building ordinances in flood-prone areas. The system provides other benefits as well, including excellent insulating properties. ease of improving or repairing utility lines, durability, uplifting comfort, and classic style, among others.

APA activities in the region are aimed at educating builders, framers, designers and building code officials about the merits of wood construction, while SPC is working both to create consumer awareness of raised wood floor features and benefits and to complement APA's design and construction education efforts. (Visit www. raisedfloorliving.com for more information.)

The prospects for increasing wood industry share of the residential floor market is strongly supported by the results of a consumer preference survey released last year by the National Association of Home Builders. For the U.S. as a whole, 42Vo of consumers prefer wood framed first floors, compared with 25Vo for concrete slab, according to the survey results. The remaining one-third had no preference, were unsure, or didn't know. And while the preference for concrete slabs was only 25Vo, concrete represents 537o of total first floor area, suggesting a wood floor promotion campaign such as that now being conducted by APA and SPC in Gulf Coast states could yield positive results.

The preference for wood varies widely by region, with the highest popularity in the North Central region and lowest in the West South Central region, where concrete has a longstanding tradition. Those findings provide support for the view that the raised wood floor effort could also make inroads in other regions. org), co-authored a wood wall bracing guide with the International Code Council, advocated for structural wood panel sheathing systems at ICC hearings, participated on a Federal Emergency Management Agency hurricane damage assessment team, and published wall sheathing literature.

The Raised Flooring Living program employs a wide variety of promotional tactics, including professional seminars and training events, demonstration projects, trade and consumer publicity, advertising, local television coverage, publications and website information. Cost and performance studies also are under way to develop data to help overcome misperceptions about the economies and long-term performance advantages of wood construction.

APA's activities also place special emphasis on wind-resistant structural panel sheathed wood walls. Structural wood panel share of the residential wall sheathing market stands at approximately 707o, which means there is substantial volume at risk, but also potentially to gain.

APA, which has conducted high wind and seismic load tests at its Tacoma. Wa.. research center for years, has in recent months also installed new state-of-the-art combined shear and uplift test equipment, launched a three-dimensional whole house test program, developed a wall bracing website (www.wallbracing.

APA also recently expanded its team of engineered wood specialists

Central Gulf; C.W.

assigned to the program in accordance with the unique opportunities that now exist in the region. Joining Bob Clark, who oversees the regional effort, are Bruce Cordova, Houston, Tx.; Paul DiGiorgio,

Macomber, northern Florida, and Stan Smith, Atlanta, Ga., and Charlotte, N.C. SPC also has a team dedicated to the effort based out of Kenner. La.

Program largets Nonresidential Market 0pportunities

Another strategic market with substantial long-term opportunities for increasing wood product demand is the nonresidential construction market, which the Wood Products Council is targeting under a program called WoodWorks,

Launched in 2N7 , the initiative is one of the most comprehensive and sustained industrywide market development efforts ever undertaken by the North American wood products industry. lt targets 4.1 billion sq. ft. of additional potential structural wood panel demand, as well as similarly substantial gains for lumber and engineered wood.

The program is now operational in lhree target-rich regional markets-California, the Southeast (Georgia, the Carolinas), and North Central (Minnesota, Wisconsin, lllinois). Those three markets, each of which has a regional director and technical staff in place, represent approximately 30o/o of the potential market gain for wood in nonresidential construction in the U.S. glulam in custom sizes, with widths to For Glulam

The program is aggressively addressing the need to educate target audiences on the various technical issues related to nonresidential wood design and construction through seminars, workshops, Wood Solutions Fairs, trade shows, direcl mail, trade media publicity and advertising, direct user and specifier support, website accessible information, and publications. Critically important wood design software also is in development.

For more information on the program, visit www.woodworks.org and see "WoodWorks at Work," an Engineered Wood Joumal article at www.apawood.org.

14 1/4", depths to 60" and beyond, and lengths up to 100'. Cindi capabilities and service options also include: l-877-553-1616'

David Smith

1-888-393-2304