Treated wood begins at the bottom

EOR DECADES lumber dealers

Fhave stocked pressure treated wood to sell as sill plate in building concrete foundations. Today, however, builders are beginning to realize that they can use pressure treated wood to build the entire foundation. Fifteen years after its introduction in 1969, the acceptance of the All Weather Wood Foundation is finally starting to take hold. American Wood Preservers Bureau statistics show that pressure treated wood foundation lumber and plywood salesincreased respectivelyby 419o and 45Vo in 1983. At the beginning of the 80s only 50,000 homes had been built with the AWWF in the U.S. Now there are nearly 100,000.

Lumber dealers wishing to cash in on this emerging market should be primed with the facts that will help them answer questions that customers have regarding this system.

Treated Lumber Output Up

1983 was a record year for pressure treated lumber with the American Wood Preservers Bureau recording a 3l9o increase.in waterborne lumber treatment production.

Charles Thomas, president of this guality control arm of the pressure treated wood industry, said "This is the largest single year increase in lumber treating the industry has ever segn.tt

The bureau quality marked 2.2billion board feet of lumber, representing about 7O9o of the totat lumber treated.

There also were dramatic increass in the production of both pressure treated plywood and All Weather Wood Foundation.

Story at a Glance

Acceptance of all wood pres. sure treated foundation on rise ..dealers need to do home. work...prepare for questions from customers...excellent market potential.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture started testing pressure treated wood foundations 40 years ago. As a result of those tests, the Department of Agriculture determined that the structural life of a pressure treated wood foundation would be over 100 years.

It has long been known that wood is a natural insulator, and the energy savings possible with a wood foundation can amount to as much as 450/0.

When used to construct a fullheight basement, the stud wall cavity of the wood basement can be finished off with the same materials and methods as the above-grade level.

In addition to applications for conventional homes, the American Wood Preservers Institute and Western Wood Preservers Institute have joined efforts to promote AWWFs for mobile homes. Last year a set of plans for mobile home AWWFs was sent to 600 mobile home manufacturers and California State building inspectors for that purpose.

Builders appreciate the fact that the AWWF can be installed during virtually any weather condition, thus keeping most weather factors from interrupting construction scheduling. What's more, the same carpentry crew that frames the home can also install the founda- tion, with framing to begin immediately after the foundation is in place. Don Kamm, vice president of Universal American Homes, claims his crews "save at least a week in construction time" when using the AWWF.

A pamplet entitled "What Every Home Builder Should Know About All Weather Wood Foundations" can be obtained by mailing a self addressed stamped envelope to Western Wood Preservers Institute, P.O. Box 748, Del Mar, Ca. 921014.