Unique uses for Doug fir ptywood

fl'AVE you ever thought of heating lla home with Douglas fir plywood? What about shingling a building? That's exactly how Glendale, Or.-based Swanson Group's plywood is being used in several unusual applications.

A new floor system solves two major challenges in home design: what heating technology to use and where to put the heating system.

Warmboard serves as both an excellent, quiet subfloor and a heating system, which heats up quickly, increases energy efficiency and comfort, and reduces the costs and difficulty of repairs.

The highly efficient, low mass radiant floor system begins with a stiff, strong 1-1l8" thick, 4'x8' tongue-andgroove plywood subfloor panel. The premium, engineered structural panel overcomes many of the limitations of concrete in radiant heating applications and minimizes the load to structural systems.

Warmboard essentially eliminates the complex system for laying out tubing and the need for additional labor to install the concrete, as well as the time needed for it to cure. A modular pattern of channels is added to the plywood's top surface. A thick 4'x8' sheet of aluminum is stamped to match the pattern and bonded permanently to each panel.

RADIANT FLOOB system features (below) a modular pattern of channels added to the top surface of plywood subflooring, so (at left) tubing can be installed in the channels once the sublloor is nailed down.

Warmboard can be cut and nailed directly to the floor joists as easily as the conventional subfloor that it replaces. The tubing goes in the channels once the entire subfloor is nailed down. The system usually takes about a day to put in place. Walls can be built on top of the panels as soon as the tubing is down-usually the next day.

Terry Alsberg, president and c.e.o., Warmboard, Aptos, Ca., notes that the system's demanding design specifications required a plywood panel with superior strength. Additionally, the panel needed to be lightweight, lay flat and allow for deep routes without exposing a lot of core voids. A number of panels and species were tested.

Douglas fir emerged as the preferred panel, because it provided the right combination of strength, stiffness, flatness and weight. Swanson Group furnished samples for product testing and submitted panels to the APA-The Engineered Wood Association for final testing and approval.

Warmboard offers a labor saving, cost-efficient way to install radiant floor heat. More contractors are using it, and homeowners are pleased with the results. It meets or exceeds all APA requirements for Sturd-I-Floor, as well as all RPA guidelines for radiant floor systems.

Today, Warmboard ships its radiant floor heating system all over the U.S.

Traditionally shingles were laid up one at a time. Cedar Valley Shingle Systems, Hollister, Ca., changed that by developing its red cedar shingle siding panels to respond to a need in the marketplace. Shingle panels save labor, and the plywood back makes them more solid on the wall. Cedar Valley uses only Doug fir plywood because it is more stable. The company tried spruce, but was disappointed with its strength.

In addition to its stability and strength, Douglas fir is also relatively light, which is a major criterion for contractors. Additionally, Cedar Valley depends on Swanson Group to deliver panels to minimize the need to maintain a large inventory.

Doug fir's versatility, performance and durability

make the plywood well suited for many specialized products.

Architect Glen Fong, Customer Design, Mclean, Va., notes these benefits of Cedar Valley shingles: ease and speed of installation, durability and authentic look. "You have the cedar shake, the fiberglass underlayer and the plywood all working in concert with each other. Additionally, the system offers a variety of component pieces----corners and flares-that really give it a great look. Those options save time and money."

In addition to its stability and durability, Doug fir is also economical. "These days it's the go-to wood of the lumber industry," Fong said. "It weathers well and is readily available."

Cedar Valley shingle panels use full 5/16" exterior plywood sheathing with real tapered shingles that are laid up by hand. The 8-ft. panels require only seven panels per square (100 sq. ft.) and go up four times faster than individual shingles. The one-piece plywood backer handles easily and eliminates problems of courses breaking apart. The smooth back surface also makes marking and sawing quicker and more accurate. It only takes 14 nails to cover 14.25 sq. ft.

Fong is so impressed with the Cedar Valley system that he installed them on his personal residence. "I have specified Cedar Valley for over 10 years because they can be used for an extraordinary variety of applications, especially on high-end homes valued at over $2 million." This shinlle siding system works well on commercial and multi-family buildings and has been used throughout the country on these kinds of structures. Doug fir panels can be engineered to meet rigorous specifications, and their versatility, performance and durability make the plywood well suited for many specialized-and sometimes unusual-products.

R:rrrr:ls

Newhouse Lumber, Benton, Il., has been acquired by Scott and Brenda Choisser from Ted and Dorothy Grenco, whose father founded the business in 1939 ...

Graber Supply is building its third building supply center, anticipating a fall opening for the 40,000-sq. ft. facility near Kalona, Ia.; Freeman Ropp, mgr. ...

Hannibal Home Store, Hannibal, Mo., is working from temporary offices after a July 29 fire destroyed its warehouse, retail store and office

Kimal Lumber Co. is building a 51,000-sq. ft. truss plant on 20 acres in Nokomis, Fl., that will double capacity, permit expansion into steel trusses, and free up its Riverview, Fl., location to operate more as a lumberyard; once the truss plant is completed in late October, work will begin on a door plant

Foxw o rth- G albraith Lumb e r C o. has built a new wood truss manufacturing plant in Van Alstyne, Tx.

Northwest True Value Hardware, Salem, Va., was leveled by an Aug. 20fre

Dale Hardware, Richmond Heights, Mo., is closing after 50 years...

Eagle Lumber, Savanna, Il., suffered more than $500,000 in damage from a July 27 fte ofundetermined origin ...

New Life Home Improvement Outlet, New Franklin, Pa., opened Sept. 1 to sell donated building materials

84 Lumber Co. will open a 20,458-sq. ft. store in mid-October in North Suffolk, Va., and opened a component plant August 13 in

Pottstown, Pa. (Scott Beckley, plant mgr.)

...

Lowe's opened new locations in NE Jacksonville, Fl.; Kingston, Ma.; Grove, Ok., and S. Morgantown, W.V., and a replacement store in Wooster, Oh.

Lowe's Cos. plans an $80 million, 1.4-million sq. ft., 200-acre DC in Plainfield, Ct., to serve Northeast stores and has launched a new installed sales program at 128 locations across the country

Home Depot this month opens new home centers in Jonesboro, Ar.; W. Petersburg, Fl,; Suwanee, Ga.; Austin and Sherman, Tx., and Gloucester. Va.: a relocation in Spartanburg, S.C., and a Floor Store in Margate, Fl.

Home Depot and USA Deck have entered into a three-year licensing agreement, which replaces the one-year agreement, adding five new eastern marketsN.J., Ct., NE Pa., Philadelphia and Boston-that represent 141 additional stores

Wrorrstrrs/trrurrcrurrrs

MeadWestvaco Corp. will permanently close its southern yellow pine sawmill in Greenville, Ga., Oct. 19, laying off 150

Collett Hardwoods /nc. will relocate from Huntington County, In., to the former site of Inwhorne Veneer Co. Inc., Fairmount, In., where they will invest $1 million in new equipment and buildings over the next 12 to 18 months ...

Tri-State Forest Products, Springfield, Oh., added a DC in Indianapolis, In. ...

G e o rg i a - Pac ific has discontinued panelboard production at its Monticello, Ga., facility; MDF and prefinishing operations continue at the plant ... so far this year, G-P has received 29.500 asbestos-relat- ed claims-a sharp increase over first half 2002

Sam Mabry Lumber Co., Liberty, Ms., temporarily shuttered its sawmill and planer, according to Random Lengths

Bestway Enterprises, Inc., Cortland. N.Y.. submitted a bid to acquire Timco's shuttered mill in Barnstead, N.H. ...

SelectTrusses & Lumber is considering incentives from the city to remain in West Salem, Wi., after Sparta, Wi. offered 25 acres of free land if the business relocated

Canfor Corp. subsidiary Daaquam Lumber Inc.has acquired the shuttered Costigan stud mill, Milford, Me., from International Paper; $38 million will be spent to rebuild the plant to begin producing 12-ft. studs next year

Potlatch Corp. has installed new press equipment in its Grand Rapids, Mn., OSB mill for roof and wall framing ...

PIum Creek Timber Co., Seattle, Wa., agreed to buy 38,0m acres of timberland in Arkansas, 33,000 acres in New Hampshire and 68,000 acres in South Carolina for $162 million in cash from Great Eastern Timber Co. L.L.C., a division of Hancock Natural Resource Group, Boston, Ma. ...

Westmoreland Logistics Park & Rail Freight Terminal has opened in Westmoreland, Pa., serviced by CSX, Norfolk Southern and the Canadian National Railroad ...

Housing starts in July (latest figures) rose 1.57o to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.872 million single family starts increased I.9Vo ta 1.521million; multi-family (5+ units) were at a pace of 319,000 building permits decreased 2.4Vo to an annual rate of 1.80 million

(Please turn to page 34)