Builders Look Up to Disdero Lock-Deck Laminated Deckitg

More builders and homeowners are looking up to the warm aesthetics of Lock-Deck wood interiors. This T&G laminated wood decking combines a structural roof system and a handsome finish surface.

The furring, sheathing and finishing often required with steel or other materials is eliminated, meaning faster construction at lower cost.

It's available in six and eight inch widths as well as two, three, four and five inch thicknesses. LockDeck is dry, strong, and bonded with a waterproof adhesive. Call us for more information today.

Palco Earns SFI Certification

Pacific Lumber Co., Scotia, Ca., has received third-party certification under the American Forest & Paper Association's Sustainable Forestry Initiative program, confirming that its lumber products are produced from sustainably managed forests.

After completing the program April 6, Palco received a declaration of conformance report from Arthur Anderson LLP, which conducted the audit in conjunction with forestry consultants Interforest LLC.

"This independent certification of our operations shows that we are conducting our business soundly, scientifically, and sustainably," says John

Campbell, president and c.e.o. "Our pursuit and successful completion of the SFI program certification process indicate that we are committed to meeting the needs of today's society while providing for the needs of future generations."

A charter SFI member, Palco operates on 220,OOO acres of privately owned forestlands in Northern California, producing architectural quality redwood and Douglas fir lumber.

Depot Adding Southwest DC

Home Depot is constructing what is said to be its biggest distribution center on 40 acres in Houston's Cedar

Crossing Industrial Park.

The $27 million, 755,000-sq. ft. facility reportedly will serve the Southwest U.S.. providing support to stores in New Mexico. Oklahoma. Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.

The overall property has 55 miles of rail that interchanges with both Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific railroads.

The firm, which was considering several Texas cities for the facility, has an option to buy an additional 50 acres to eventually bring its development to about 2 million sq. ft.

Treated Lumber Warning Bill

Unhappy with the pace of an EPA review, Florida Senator Bill Nelson is submitting legislation to require warning labels on pressure treated wood.

Nelson proposes placing a consumer warning label on every piece of CCA treated lumber.

Hardwood Plywood Tome

Ang Schramm, a product engineer from a Southern division of Columbia Forest Products, Portland, Or., has drawn upon his decades of experience in the forest products industry to write a new book on hardwood plywood and veneer manufacturing.

A Hardwood Plywood Manual details the entire plywood manufacturing process. including sections on product grades and standards, substrates, variations in plywood face appearance and meeting customer expectations.

A 2}-year employee of Columbia Forest Products, Cuthbert, Ga., and a longtime member and former president of the Hardwood Plywood and Veneer Association, Schramm's book is $29.95 from Columbia's Web site at www.columbiaforestproducts.com.

Depot Buys Mexican Chain

To enhance its international foothold, Home Depot, Atlanta, Ga., has purchased Mexico's secondlargest home-improvement chain, four-unit Total Home, from Alfa SA, Monterrey Mexico.

Financial terms of the all-cash transaction, the first under new president and ceo Bob Nardelli, were not revealed.

With its acquisition of Total Home, whose four locations record about $70 million in sales annually, Depot now operates 79 stores outside of the U.S. and Canada.

Ex-Tum-A-Lum Site Acquired

The former Tum-A-Lum Lumber Co., La Grande, Or., shuttered since Feb. 19, has reopened as an Ace Hardware affiliate.

Steve Colkitt and Wayne Ryder, whoown Miller's Cabinet and Hardware, La Grande, are leasing the store, now named Miller's Home Center and Lumber Co., and have purchased the inventory of its former occupant, as well as hired three exTum-A-Lum employees.

The pair are moving all the Ace Hardware inventory into the new location, one block from their cabinet and glass shop, which will remain at its present location.

Tum-A-Lum Lumber closed the store in February due to poor lumber market conditions (see April, p. 18). A handful of former employees have since been hired by All-Around Rental and Building Supply, La Grande (see May, p. 377.

Vintage Lumber Train To Ride

A steam locomotive built in 1922 for Coos Bay Lumber Co., North Bend, Or., is being moved from that city's Simpson Park to the new Oregon Coast Historical Railway museum in Coos Bay, Or.

From 1923 to 1954, Baldwin #104 pulled log trains up to 100 cars long, before being sold and placed on standby duty in Toledo, Or., until 1960 when its owner, Georgia-Pacific, donated it to the Coos County Historical Society.

A massive 250ton trailer was used to haul the 75 ton,40'-long engine and its 25'-long tender. Both will be completely restored and inspected to transport tourists between Coos Bay and North Bend.