Southem pine joins the manufactured housing boom

!r gulHERN PINE dealers

!Eshould see the success of the recent test marketing of a 4 x 8 deck for manufactured homes as an omen of good things to come.

Jerry Crawford, a manufactured home distributor in New Orleans, La., cooperated with the Southern Forest Products Association in sending a promotional deck mailer to some 500 manufactured home owners in southeastern Louisiana.

The literature described how the deck made from pressure treated southern pine could replace the box steps of a manufactured home. The information stressed that the project could be a d-i-y job or an installation by Crawford Distributing. Both would use a deck kit cut and packaged by AT&N Lumber Service, York, Al.

To further interest in the deck, SFPA had a full page announcement of the program in Automation In Housing (a magazine for the manufactured housing industry). The response to the mailer, the ad and a model deck shown at the 1985 Louisiana Manufactured Housing Association trade show at the New Orleans Convention Center was described as overwhelming.

The significance of the break through into the manufactured housing market by southern pine should not be overlooked. The latest figures issued by the Manufactured Housing Institute claimed that manufactured housing accounted for 32Vo of all new homes sold nationwide. As the most affordable housing available (average price: $18,000), manufactured homes are attracting buyers priced out of the stick built housing.

Affordability is not the only thing

UNLIMITED possibility ol using soulhern pine to surround a manufactured house with decks and add outdoor living and recreation space is well illustrated in this landscaoe architect's rendering going for manufactured housing. Ready financing and custom type units are additional incentives. The increased availability of up scale manufactured home communities such as Sycolin Forest in Leesburg, Va., is another plus.

The bottom line is that a market need which can be filled by southern pine is developing. Elegant manufactured homes with cathedral ceilings, bay windows and other attractive architectural features demand to be surrounded by decks and outdoor living areas comparable to those used with other luxurious dwellings.

Any garden, terrace, deck or patio structure used with a conventional home can be adapted to the manufactured home. Benches, planters, gazebos, trellises, spa surrounds, walks, storage for outdoor and recreational equipment, railings, privacy fences, wind screens, porches and landscape timbers are all possibilities.

The Permanent Wood Foundation system also works well with manufactured homes. Plans published by the American Plywood Association in joint sponsorship with the American Wood Preservers Institute, National Forest Products Association, Society of American Wood Preservers, Inc., Southern Forest Products Association and Western Wood Products Association detail the procedure.

The market exists and the decking kit has made a niche in it for southern pine. Now it is up to dealers and wholesalers to take advantage of what has been accomplished.

Story at a Glance

Pressure treated southern pine deck tests well in manufactured housing market. . . these homes now accountlorS2o/o ot new house market. . . modular home communities developing . need lor outdoor living amenities creates a new market.