thetic Coating Bolsters Treated Wood

Wood preservers tired of losing marketshare to composite manufacturers can now add a polymer coating to their treated lumber to produce a sturdier, lower maintenance wood decking.

After four years of product development and testing, Northstar Vinyl Products, LLC, Kennesaw, Ga., has just introduced Morex, a decking that's wood on the inside and synthetic on the outside.

"With Morex, the customer gets the best of both worlds," claims Northstar president Jeff Moreau. "He gets the strength of wood and all the benefits of a synthetic."

The new decking begins with the selection of premium grade pressure treated wood deck material. Then, using a proprietary, high-speed process, a polymer coating is applied to the top three sides of the board. A three-component, skid-resistant aggregate is applied to the walking surface.

Its wood core reportedly reduces the board's overall weight while increasing its strength, eliminates predrilling, and is nailed down, not screwed, so nail heads "seat" into the coating to form a watertight seal. Builders, architects, designers and code officials typically are more familiar with wood.

The coating is said to protect the wood against sun and rain, reduce maintenance, allow cleaning with water and a degreaser, carry a l0-year limited warranty, eliminate splinters, and seal out moisture to prevent cupping and checking.

"The composite deck products are great because they took maintenance outof the equation," Moreau explains. "That's what has built their market. However, those products, as ( Please turn tu page 4 I )

Synthetic Coated Treated Wood

(Continued from page 38) they're currently manufactured, cannot satisfactorily address a builder's structural strength requirements."

The 5/4" and 2" boards initially will be offered in three colors-light tan, dark tan and redwood-in a residential as well as a commercial grade for marinas and other hightraffic applications.

"This product gets the CCA industry and the wood treater off of the sideline and back into the same." savs Moreau. "This industry has watched the wood'alternativls take a bite out of its biggest segment of business. Now a treater can add value to his own product and compete with synthetic options." According to Northstar's run rate, one coating machine produces the same amount of decking in the same time as 22 composite extruders.

The company is seeking regional distributors to promote Morex, as well as wood treating facilities around the U.S. to apply the coatings in-house. Treaters can be licensed whether they're affiliated with Osmose, Arch or CSI, as long as the application does not void the chemical supplier' s original warranty.

Building Products Plus, Houston, Tx., was the first to sign on with Morex. The treater has been licensing 2|POLY, a coating very similar to Morex, but developed specifically for marine structures.

Morex is only available for treated wood-for now. "With CCA having the lion's share of the wood deck market, we developed a CCA product first," reveals Moreau. "We have run tests on both CCA and brieht lumber and it works with either. We were thinking u6out trying it on cedar and expect that it would work fine."

We don't make a lot of noise about NASCOR* engineered floor joists. Let's lust say they're stronger, straighter, lighter and dimensionally truer than any conventional 2x1O joist you've ever seen. They're also alot quieter. Which makes NASCOR* the strongest, quietest floor joists you've ever heard.

Timber Conseruatian Through Wood, preseruation

Since 1971, the goals of Western Wood Preserving Co. have always been to provide top quality products and services at competitive prices to customers who share our appreciation for high standards. Our environmentally compliant, state-of-the-aft, Osmose dai$ed treating plant uses the latest in computer process control technology. In ttris unique industry our word is our honor and our goal is to make dealing with Western Wood Preserving Co. a pleasurable experience.

Depot Sprucing Up Stores

After more than 20 years as a "working warehouse" complete with wooden pallets in its aisles and beeping forklifts zigzagging the floors, Home Depot stores are getting a makeover, all under the watchful eyes of shoppers and Wall Street.

Mindful of injuries from fallen merchandise and customer complaints about cluttered aisles and uneven service, the chain launched its Service Performance Improvement program last year in six stores in Salt Lake City, Ut., and Florida.

The program, which has since been expanded to an additional 42 stores in the Atlanta region, prohibits workers from stocking shelves and running forklifts between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., the busiest shopping hours. The rules also apply to the roughly 100 stores that operate 24 hours, although some smaller sales volume units can inventory until 10 a.m., and forklifts can still be used to fulfill customer needs.