MAKES GREAT SC)UTHERN WC)CD

Just ask some of the South's greatest warehouses and fully paved yards s0 that the product college coaches - the name Osmose means quality. we deliver is clean and straight. And of course, we do But s0 does Great Southern Wood, and there's a lot use a patented pressure-treatrnent process that's we do to try to earn that name. covered by a lifetime guarantee.

We have our own trucking fleet to ensure So keep looking for that yellow tag, prompt delivery while our five locations allow ^a. endorsed by those who know a winner when ^excellent deliwiry coverage. That way, you deal they se6 one. And remember: If it doesn't yth Lqrt oo. u.ndor instEad of three'or 1$. say osmose on the yellow tag, you don't four. We also have our own covered ^-^^'- want it. r\itrlloit i\ll.

PRESSURE TREATED LUMBER

25 Pressure Treolers

The big get bigger in our onnuol production ronking of the notion's lorgest wood preserving (omponies.

@veneroDre mrsslssrppr (0mp0ny chonges with the times.

EB ilew ceronic dech screw dores lo be squcre lmproved fo$ener otlempls to revitolize demond for the squore drive heod.

Serving 13 Southern states

PUBLISHER David Cutler (dcutler@ ioc.net)

SENIOR EDITOR David Koenig (dkoenig@ ioc.nel)

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Dave DelVal (sdaly@ioc.net)

C0NTRIBUTING EDIT0RS Dwight Curran, Gage McKinney, Earl Moore

A0 SALES MANAGER Chuck Casey

ART DIRECTOR Martha Emery

STAFF ARTIST Vicloria Damrel

CIRCULATION Autumn Schwanke

How to Advertise

Contact our advertising olfices for rates:

U.S.A.: Chuck Casey, 4500 Campus Drive, Suite 480, Newport Beach, Ca. 92660-1872. Phone (714) 852-'1990 Fax 714-852-0231

SOUTH AMERICA: Charles Hallifax, Av. Americo Vespucio Norte 322, Ol. 13, Las Condes, Santiago, Chile. Phone (0'll)-56-2 207 1257 Fax 01 1-56-2 207 1262

INTERNET ADS: David Cutler, www.buildingproducts.com. Phone (714) 852-1990 Fax 714-852-0231

How to Subscribe

call (714) 852.1990 or send a check for the following amounl lo Building Products Digest,4500 Campus Drive, Suile 480, Newporl Beach, Ca.92660-1872:

U.S.A.: One year (12 issues), $25

Two years, $41

Three years, $55

FOREIGN (Pet year paid in ailance in US funds): Surface-Canada or Mexico. $37 Olher countries, $45

Air rales also available.

Single copies, $3 + shipping

Back issues (wtren available), $4.50 + shipping

CHANGE OF ADDRESS Send address label from recenl issue il possible, new address and nine-digil zip code.

DAVID CUTLER publisher dcutler@ioc.net

The Moving Target Moves On

The latest figures on the American house remind us that U.S. homes have changed remarkably in less than a generation. It's not your father's house, anymore.

The differences can have a sizable impact upon anyone supplying materials, products and services.

The National Association of Home Builders reports that in 1973 new houses averaged 1,600 square feet. Today, it's more than 2,200 square feet. It is more than likely they have central air conditioning, four bedrooms, a freplace, a family room, a swimming pool and a garage for at least two cars. Bare bones starter homes are increasingly rare.

Today, nearly half of all new homes have 2.5 bathrooms; in 1973 it was 1970. Less than a quarter had four or more bedrooms, now a third do. Fireplaces have gone from 34Vo to 6OVo. What formerly was considered a luxury now seems a requirement.

There is a parallel with many products as the richness of American life continues escalating. In autos, appliances and electronics, the deluxe model is most popular, just like housing. The spartan, do-without world of the past seems far removed from today's pampered consumer.

In housing, a number of factors have come together to move buyers upmarket. A sustained period of prosperity with its higher salaries, consumer confidence, sense of job security, low unemployment and low mortgage rates has enabled homebuyers to enjoy a move up.

While lot sizes are smaller than they were in 1988, environmentalists still complain that a selfish public is using land for new homes that enviros feel should be made off limits for all but natural critters. We suspect that the number of potential homebuyers who will sacrifice their chance for a new home for the Kangaroo Rat, for instance, is pretty small.

Whether you supply raw material or finished products, be aware that dramatic changes in housing may well require equally dramatic changes from your side of the equation.