New deqler tools help sell EWP to builders

f, PA-The Engineered Wood Association is expanding ll,its educational Build A Better Home program with a new awareness campaign, special activities at the upcoming International Builders Show, and a unique promotional package for building material dealers and contractor yards.

Now in its second year, the Build A Better Home (BBH) program is designed to provide builders, designers and homeowners with the most current construction guidelines needed to protect homes against damaging moisture infiltration. Key building elements addressed in the program are the foundation, walls and roof.

The new awareness campaign features an attention grabbing floor display-a red stop sign emblazoned with the word "MOLD." This sets the stage for the detailed BBH construction techniques and product recommendations.

"Bulk water intrusion is responsible for the majority of the problems related to moisture damage," said APA's Kevin Hayes. "Simple construction steps, including the correct use of flashing materials, weather-resistive barriers, tapes and sealants, can help prevent major trouble down the road. It's important that we take this information to the local yard, where daily product and construction decisions are frequently discussed."

The problems associated with moisture in homes prompted APA to organize a unique partnership between industry and government. The BBH coalition began in earnest last year when APA, the Southern Pine Council and the Forest Products Laboratory led a cooperative effort of more than 50 manufacturers in building the first ever, fullscale, moisture-resistant research demonstration house in Madison, Wi.

Built to test and display proper building techniques and materials, the walls of the home are wired with moisture sensors, which feed hourly data to computers. The house is periodically loaded with varying levels of humidity to simulate the moisture vapor released by an average family. Determining how water moves through the building envelope should help answer perplexing questions-made more so in this age of changing building practices-about the best ways to construct dry, durable envelopes and interiors.

"There's still a lot we don't know," admits Anton TenWolde, a research physicist with FPL. In fact, the science on how to build homes to properly handle the "load" of moisture generated from the people in it and from the weather outside of it, is far less advanced than, say, the science that determines how much wind and snow certain roofs can handle.

"In moisture, we're just beginning this process," says TenWolde, who expects the tests on this house to lead to healthier and better built homes across the country. "The BBH house implemented the best technology we currently have at hand to provide a moisture-safe house."

This past summer APA's field staff underwent extensive moisture science training from some of the leading scientists in the field. The result: a nationwide schedule of moisture control seminars with builder associations and dealer groups. One of the more successful programs involved a presentation given during LMC's recent annual meeting in St. Louis.

"We had more than 100 of our people at that seminar," said purchasing manager Greg Gorniak. "Theydid an excellent job with helping our dealers understand the com- plexity behind the mold issue. Now we can offer appropriate product and application guidance to our customers."

BBH awareness ads featuring the "MOLD" sign will run in trade publications, and the floor display signs will be displayed at several locations during next month's International Builders Show in Las Vegas. In addition, moisture science seminars will be conducted at the 3,000-sq. ft. NextGen demo house in the parking lot of the Stardust Hotel. Among the themes being touted at this joint government and industry model home are connectivity, advanced framing, building science and moisture control.

Dealers can capitalize on the awareness generated by these activities by ordering either the standing floor display or a countertop version with an easel back. The floor display consists of a 24" red octagonal traffic sign with an "Information Zone" placard that holds about 100 pocket flyers. The flyers contain construction details and an imprint space for the dealer stamp and notes. Instructions are included for an 8" sign post and the 2-sq. ft. base, which can be constructed with readily available lumber and panel products. The moisture awareness kits become available this month.

l:rrrrns

Earley Lumber Co., Carbon Hill, Al., was completely destroyed by a tornado that touched down Nov. 11.; no injuries were reported at Earley Lumber, although 11 Carbon Hill residents were killed during the storm

Home Depot this month opens new stores in Bowling Green, Ky.; Abilene, Gainesville, and Spring Cypress, Tx.; W. Kendall (Miami), N. facksonville, W. Port St. Lucie, and a second in Davie. Fl.

Home Depot plans a 95,000-sq. ft. store in Lebanon, Tn., and has begun testing a "female friendly" format at its Blairsville and Loganville, Ga., locations; the stores feature off-white shelves. less cluttered aisles, kitchen items and brighter lighting ...

Lowe's Cos. opened new locations Nov. 14 in Gadsden. Al. (Jerry Turner, mgr.), and Waycross,Ga. (Gary Osborne, mgr.), and replacement stores Nov. 15 in Hickory, N.C. (Pat Grady, mgr.), and Seneca, S.C. (Bucky Shoas, mgr.)...

Lowe's has begun construction on new stores in Pharr, Tx., and Lebanon,Tn....

Builders Supply Co., Petersburg, Va., recently endured a major blaze in its warehouse: there were no injuries and the yard is now open for business

Deck America wlll supply, sell and install pre-engineered deck systems at HomeDepot stores in Baltimore, Md.; Richmond and Norfolk, Va., and Washington, D.C. ...

Wnousnrrs/trruntrurrrs

Rayonier, Jacksonville, Fl., has permanently closed its small finishing mill in Lumber City, Ga., which has been idle since July 11

G e o rgia - Pac ific has temporarily curtailed production at its plywood plants in Talladega, Al.; Gloster, Ms., and Russellville, S.C., joining already-idled facilities in Urania, La.; Louisville, Ms., and Bon Weir, Tx....

Arrowhead Lumber Sales, Oklahoma City, Ok., is now distributing Boise l-joists and LVL products along with Anthony Forest Producrs glulam beams

Bois Omega Ltee. has purchased eastern white pine sawmill Bearnan Lurnber, Winchster, N.H., and renamed it Crestwoods Inc.

DW Distribution, DeSoto, Tx., is now distributing Sierra Knotty Pine Doors' new line of interior wood doors

Glen Oak Lumber & Millinghas been selected as millwork supplier for Wausau Homes,leading producer of components for custom built homes ...

Metromont Materials, LLC, Spartanburg, S.C., has opened a new ready*mix concrete plant in Blythewood, S.C.

American Hardboard As sociation is in the process of merging with the Composite Panel Association...

Weyerhaeuser Co., saying current duties against Canadian lumber are backfiring, is pughing ,for a two-step compromise: first, irnmediately establish a Canadian border tax on softwood lumber exports; end countervailing and anti-dumping duties, and halt all petitions, litigation and appeals; second, negotiate changes in Canadian logpricing practices to more closely mirror those in the U.S. ...

Louisiana-Pacffic is facing a class action suit by homeowners who claim NatureGuard cement fiber shakes made in California from 1995 to 1998 were def,ectiVe

Internntional Paper hax forned a conservation partner$hii rnith the state of Tennessee to protect and manage special areas on more than 22O.O00 acres of IP land oNr@o ooa6€ -*F-@ FroP9foP @oN@o NOOSa0 o@r@@ oNooo h (t) frl (t a P S a o fi (t R E n a +) /q) rd h L +) a FI J E A€H o q) -tE () a -I a cf) a-\ v a-\ v N bo ^tr ^X'i eoli ?L a o<€-i rnX g# gE n < Ez:h;EE e 65

Anniversari es: Orgill, Memphis, Tn., l55th ... Georgia-Pacific, Atlanta, Ga., 75th Taylor's Do it Center, Virginia Beach, Va., 75th ... Gaiennie Lumber, Opelousas, La., 65th M&D Supply, Beaumont, Tx., 35th ... KentuclE Indiana Lumber, Louisville, Ky., 30th ... Epperson Lumber Sales, Statesville, N.C., 30th .., On'vald Whole sale Lumber, BatesburgLeesville, S.C., 30th Middle Atlantic Wholesale Lumber, Owings Mills, Md., 25dl :.

Housings stdrti in,,,0at. (latest figures) dropped tl.4% to an annual rate of l.S3 million ... single family **,6elt,7$9i:',w.,:,1.150 milton; multi-family' was :at "a,,,rate of 221,000 for 5+ units ...,pe{rnits rose 1.77o to a 1.763 million rate.

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OSB Mill Breaks Ground

Huber Engineered Woods has broken ground on a $130 million OSB facility in Broken Bow, Ok.

The plant should be fully operational in 2004 when itwill employ about 160. Operations are expected to rw 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In part, the location was selected due to its proximity to southern yellow pine needed to produce OSB.

Based in Charlotte, N.C., Huber also operates engineered wood plants in Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee and Maine.

Lowe's DC For Tennessee

Lowe's Cos. is negotiating to buy 4'7 acres in Brownsville. Tn.. to build a $10 million, 675,000-sq. ft. regional distribution center/reload.

Local officials agreed to sell the site in the Brownsville-Haywood County Industrial Park for $5,000 an acre and invest about $650,000 to extend a 4,381-ft. rail spur to the site.

The deal was anticipated to close and construction to begin as early as the end of November. In full operation, the facility would handle 50 inbound rail cars and 200 outbound trucks a week.

Lowe's also had evaluated other sites along the CSX rail line in West Tennesse as far north as McKenzie. as well as in Marion, Ar.

Depot Settles Miami Feud

HomeDepot ended months of feuding with the city of North Miami, Fl., by agreeing to a settlement over a half-built store that lies within the borders of both Miami-Dade County and North Miami.

Days after the Oct. 24 agreement, construction resumed on what Home Depot officials promised to be a smaller, more upscale store with limits set on the quantity of lumber sold-a store modeled on a similar Depot in Brea, Ca.

Since May, when it was discovered that a portion of the store was within North Miami city limits, mayor Josaphat Celestin and residents of the neighboring community have tried to block construction. claiming a warehouse-size store would destroy the area's quality of life (see October, page 48).

Under the agreement, Home Depot will pay North Miami $1.3 million and back the city's move to annex the property, giving it control over zoning regulations and tax revenues.

Mayor Celestin and many residents expressed disappointment that the city council gave Depot the go-ahead to complete the store.

"No one will be completely happy," said Celestin. "We know that at the end of the day, the store will change the quality of life in the city."

84 Expanding Virginia Yard

84 Lumber Co. is adding a new 12,000-sq. ft building to its Haymarket, Va., location.

The $400,000 expansion calls for a new retail space located in front of the current 20,000-sq. ft. building.

"What we are doing is constructing a new retail facility and converting the existing retail store into a storage facility," said 84 Lumber's Jim Zaunick.

According to co-manager Scott Heist, the additional space will allow the store to stock more of the products that their builders customers have been requesting.

The new structure was built on land already owned by 84 Lumber.

The company anticipates a March 2003 opening.