CHEMONITE PRODUCTS BECOMING A HOT COMMODITY FOR CALIFORNIA CLASSROOM CONSTRUCTION

The foundation systems made from this lumber are designed to last the lifetime of the building, whether it's picked up and moved in a year or two or sits in one location for a decade. Elmore adds that these systems, although ostensibly temporary, are more than solid enough to meet the state's earthquake code. "I've been going to these school sites and putting my hands on the wood for almost 20 years, and I know what works and what doesn't." savs Elmore. 'And I know that if you want to put a portable classroom on a foundation that needs to be there for l0 or 15 years with no rot, no decay, and no problems, you're going to treat Douglas fir with Chemonite." he new California state allotment for education is having an unanticipated effect on business at Abel Building of Stockton, CA.

Abel Building supplies retail and industrial forest products to lumber yards across Northern California, including Douglas fir treated with Chemonite. Abel's Bill Elmore explains that the new state budget's call for reductions in class size is spurring the construction of portable classrooms built on Douglas fir foundation systems.

According to Elmore, "Existing state law says that 25Vo of new classroom construction must be portable classrooms - they're cheaper, they're more efficient, and if you get a population shift in your town, you can break them apart and move them to another school site across town." The specs for these portable buildings include foundation systems built with Douglas fir, and according to Elmore, "There isn't a treatment other than Chemonite that gives you .40 retention" in that particular wood. Elmore cites the reasoning behind these specs as the fact that "In many cases, these buildings are sitting directly on a piece of leveled ground, and we obviously want to prevent any decay from water or insect damage."