Dealers fine-tune their Web sites

apprlcatrons.

While the sites range in content from a single page of type to hundreds of colorful, flashing, photo- and animation-filled pages, the trick can be to get visitors to look at all of them. Dixieline Lumber, San Diego, Ca., devised a clever way to encourage visitors to explore its Web site: by inviting them to play the Dixieline Web Game for a chance to win a $200 gift certificate. Contestants have to search throughout the site to find the 10 answers for the online crossword pluzzle.

Some dealers encourage communication by asking customers to "register" with their site, often providing access to otherwise off-limits areas.

Moynihan Lumber, North Reading Ma., solicits visitors to join its EClub. Members are informed by e- sites, directions to the store, and the local weather are other popular features. companies is an operational pain in the neck." mail about upcoming events, receive exclusive offers and coupons, and are notified when the site is updated.

Once a mainstay on most Web sites, "hit counters" (which show how many people have visited the site) are included on just l87o of the sites surveyed. Numbers of visits ranged from 152 for a less-than-year-old site to 15,732. Curiously, the typical numbers-averaging a few thousand-aren't blockbuster figures, explaining perhaps why most of the other companies track site traffic, but keep the statistics to themselves.

Columbia, S.C.-based Boozer Lumber Co.'s site features photos of recent construction projects using Boozer components, such as wall panels, floor trusses and roof trusses.

Similarly, Compton Lumber & Hardware, Seattle, Wa., showcases photos of customers' projects such as humidors and drums using materials purchased at the store.

Links to vendor or local interest fiFTEN pricey additions for a \-/homeowner, columns can add even more to a home's resale value and elegant appearance. So, make sure your customers get the right products for the job by asking the right questions:

Another dwindling practice, posting when the site was last updated, appears on only ll%o of the sites. Nearly half of those updated within the last two weeks, and the inclusion of that date can be helpful to let visitors know if there's something new since their last visit. But it's information that arguably shouldn't be included by others, such as the mediumsized Pacific Northwest chain whose last update was October 1997 and a three-unit Canadian dealer who last visited its own site in 1996. More embarrassing, though, are those who inadverdently revealed their neglect by advertising badly outdated information, such as long-expired monthly specials, broken links and events that had long since passed.

"The obvious bottom line appears to be that the Internet for many companies is an operational pain in the neck. Most Web sites reek of being something the boss ordered up," noted one Southern California business analyst. "It's because once these me-too companies go online, everyone apparently goes back to doing business the old way."

(. $ ts tne application load-bearing or simply decorative?

Columns can be used for structural support as well as for decorative purposes. As such, various columns will bear different amounts of weight. Their load bearing capacity is directly related to the surface area of the lumber used, the length of the column and the compression strength of the particular wood species. Manufacturers can provide tables showing exact capacities.

The thickness ofthe stave is another important indicator of a column's strength (thickness also influences the price). A stave that is too thin won't provide adequate support or withstand the rigors of architectural detail work.

While great for lightweight, decorative applications, expanded polystyrene (foam) is non-load bearing.

(. $ lre the columns for interior or exterior use?

Wood columns must be ventilated when installed outdoors. "It is the same effect that you get when you wear glasses or sunglasses outside in the heat from an air-conditioned interior," says Jeff Davis, Chadsworth's l.800.Columns, Wilmington, N.C. "Your glasses will begin to perspire. The same effect happens to columns when the temperature on the outside of the column is one degree and the interior is another degree."

Adequate ventilation must be provided at the top of the column by a vented recessed soffit and at the bottom by the plinth or plates. The ventilation must be maintained at all times.

Flashing should be used for exterior capitals to prevent moisture from entering the column shaft. Premium grade caulking also should be applied where the capital meets the beam and rests on the column shaft.

It is not necessary to ventilate interior wooden columns, but you must always ventilate wooden columns when used outside. Fiberglass/composite, expanded polystyrene and stone columns do not have to be ventilated for interior or exterior use.

If the columns are to be installed outdoors, climate becomes a factor. Several manufacturers claim that fiberglass composite makes for virturally indestructible columns.

While wood columns require oilbased primer and paint (zinc-free, if for redwood) and fiberglass accommodates exterior paint, different primers and paints work best in different weather conditions.

Species used for exterior column shafts include redwood, western red cedar, pine, and a variety of other clear western wood species, with staves offered in both solid or fingerjointed construction. For interior applications, pine, poplar, mahogany, cherry, oak or virtually any commercially available wood species may be specified. (. S Will the columns be used to disguise existing poles and beams?

Wrapping around structural supports is one of the most frequent uses of columns today. Wood and expanded polystyrene columns can be split in half for reassembly around structural members. The inside clearance of the shaft, though, first must be determined. If it is a pole, subtract the thickness of the lumber from the top diameter. If it is a square piece, get the diagonal. lf the columns are to be installed outdoors, climate becomes a factor.

$ Witl the columns be stored before installation?

Prolonged storage is not recommend for wooden columns and decorative capitals. If they must be stored prior to installation, first sand, prime, fill and paint columns, then keep them in a dry, well ventilated place in an upright position.

Wooden columns and decorative capitals, in fact, should be primed as soon as they are delivered, then treated with two coats of oil-based paint.