Future bright for pressure treated wood

IIHE MARKETING of Pressure

I treated wood has been improving steadily for the past few years, but the industry is poised for even greater increases in sales.

Two areas are especially promising as we move aggressively ahead in both technical advances and promotions.

One of the most exciting breakthroughs is in the Permanent Wood Foundation area. This all-wood foundation has been proven in extensive use tests and its acceptance in the homebuilding industry will dramatically increase the volume of pressure treated wood being sold.

The Permanent Wood Foundation is the perfect specification for houses built with full basements, since it produces a warm, dry interior wall that is very easy to finish, as opposed to cold, damp masonry construction.

The Permanent Wood Foundation can also be installed in cold and inclement weather, a major consideration for builders faced with tight construction deadlines.

Even though the full basement market is not a major one in the West, interest in the Permanent Wood Foundation is increasing rapidly as more and more factorybuilt modular construction develops. When modular type houses are located in conventional residential neighborhoods, as opposed to mobile and modular home parks, the project comes under the full building code. Most codes require that such homes be built on permanent foundations with all utilities in place.

Obviously, the Permanent Wood Foundation, with its full systems approach to construction, is the ideal solution. It is an engineered system which uses pressure treated plywood and lumber that carries the FDN treatment stamp certifying the materials for below ground contact.

A major push for the Permanent Wood Foundation is under way through the promotional work being done by the Wood Products Promotional Council. This Council is a cooperative effort of the various in-

By Karl T. Mosher Vice President Marketing McCormick & Baxter

dustry groups such as the American Plywood Association, Western Wood Products Association, Southern Forest Products Association and others.

At the same time, an all-out promotional blitz is being organized by the American Wood Council in support of three special design houses they are building. These projects will be in Stockton, Ca., Atlanta, Ga., and Kansas City, Mo.

Story at a Glance

Industry forges ahead in lechnical advances, better product appearance...prcssure treated wood caplures new markets... demonstration homes are parl of promotional push.

When the full impact of this promotion reaches builders and contractors across the country, sales of FDN, the super-rated materials should increase dramatically. At the same time, this increased awareness of the benefits of pressure treated wood should carry through to the other categories, LP-25 for the above ground use and LP-22 for both ground/water contact. Lumber dealers should make themselves fully aware of the special treating and inspection standards for this specially marked FDN kilndried material.

Landscaping materials also represent an important segment of the pressure treated wood market. This market has grown most impressively in the last two to three years through extensive promotional work and word of mouth. As recently as two years ago, the average homeowner probably had never heard of pressure treated wood. Consumer awareness and product recognition have increased dramatically as project capabilities create mental images for consumers, which are easily converted into sales.

Even with this increased awareness, however, pressure treated wood still has such a small percentage of the landscaping materials market, as opposed to redwood, that future sales can only go up.

One of the reasons for this optimistic prediction is that people uue not moving into new homes every six years or so as they were in past years. The alternative is to fix up the old house, and exterior projects such as decks, fences and other similar construction are high on the list. In fact, in a recent survey, decks were the farand-away winner on the homeowner preference list for exterior improvement projects.

Traditional uses of pressure treated wood are also increasing. One of the major growth areas is recreational projects. Pressure treated wood is used extensively in parks, picnic areas, campgrounds and similar applications, both for its performance and for the overall appeal of wood, especially in heavy timber applications.

Harbors and marinas are another strong market area. In addition to new construction, extensive repair work is still underway to correct damage caused by heavy storms last year.

Pressure treated wood is also capturing markets previously dominated by other construction materials. For example, Pacific Gas and Electric is

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