e Smartest vantages In Siding

LP@ SmartSide@ T?im & Siding products offer the beauty of cedar with the advantages of engineered wood. That means consistent boards with no knots or voids. An industry-leading warranty that provides a 5-yeaq, 100% labor and replacement feature and a 50-Year Prorated Limited Warranty on the substrate. And our proprietary SmartGuardo process that ensures LP SmartSide products resist fungal decay and termite damage. LP SmartSide T?im & Siding. AII the advantages you need.

I

The California Redwood Company we've made it easy to tailor the look and feel of your project to match r individual taste. Simply select the board profrle you prefer below and match it to one of our 3 distinct wood styles: Premium Blend, Classic Heart, or Alpine.

THE CALIFORNIA SERIES"

The Classic Look

ime tested and simply beautiful. wood shrinks and swells less than woods so its warm and rich is long lasting, too.

California Redwood Company refully air-seasons or kiln dries the before shipping to ensure less ing warping or cupping like other do.

Elegant & Modern

Engineered shape designed to ensure your deck is as iong lasting as it is beautiful.

Ail four sides of the Meridian board ' feature a subtle radius, designed to increase water runoff and airflow.

Each board is hand selected and piaced through our pianers at a reduced speed, giving you a premium board with a frnish that looks great on both sides.

THE HERITAGE COLLECTION"

The Classic Re-shaped

Each Summit board features an elegant crowned surface on one side, beveled edges and drip lines on the bottom, meaning water and debris simply have no place to hide.

Each Summit board has been hand picked at the mi1l and placed through the planer at a slower speed for a more refined finish.

favorite board profile can be purchased in any of the following unique redwood styles:

Premium Blend

rich contrast of wood tones with a ned finish, board is hand selected to miniize knots, providing a deck iook that warm, rich and eiegant.

ith its mix of warm yeilows and deep your project is guaranteed to be of stunning beauty

Classic Heart

The color and loclk that made redwood famous.

Hand selected, heartwood only. Features a deep red, uniform appearance.

. The look and {eel others try and matchto no avail.

Alpine

A full rich and dynamic color range of redwood, including the character and texture of knots.

No board is the same, each comes with its own unique history to tell. Great for decks and other outdoor projects. Uniike the cornposltes, redwopd is the real deal. No faking it here.

a full list of products offered by The California Redwood Company please visit our website, www.californiaredwoodco.com contact one of our redwood specialists, 707-2683cco or 8oo-637-7o77.

Special Features ln EveryIssue

1 0 Frnrunr Srony S,vnnrrN Up oN Srunnr Tncs 'l2 Pnooucr Sporlrcnr Snrrp Tnrcr: NnrunRr Woor lNSUr,qrroN

BnmnNc lxousrny Nrws, lNousrny PHoro DowNlonos, & Tnr

Drcrrnl VrnsloN

B urror Nc-PnoDUCTS.coM

Tur MrncnnNT oN Fncreoox

SeRncH "THE MERCHnNT at Newport Beach, Ca., and additional post offices. It is an independenUy"owned publication for the retail, wholesale and distribution levels of the lumber and buildino Doducts markets in 13 westem states. Coovrioht@2011 bv Cuter Publishino. Inc. Cover and entire mntenti'aie fully prot6cted and must n6i be reproduced in any manner wilhout written permission. All Rights Reserved. lt reserves the right to accept or reject any editorial or advertising matler, and assumes no liabilily for materials fumished to it.

The Mark of Responsible Forestn scs-coc-00 I 973 @1996 Forest Stewardship Council A.C.

By Alan Oakes

Does home ownership still make sense?

f, rrenABourFouRveensofdepressioninourindustry, lmustadmitlambeginningto la'wonder what is going on in the housing market. Are we seeing a fundamental shift by the next generation away from the long-held mantra that you have to own your own house?

For decades, politicians of both persuasions have made it a feature of their policy that home ownership is a fundamental right, a sound investment, a sign of stability, a necessity to build community. Many of late have learned the hard way that this simply is not true and are now taking a different path. And, in light of a growing chorus to eliminate the mortgage tax deduction, I am concerned what these trends might mean for our industry.

Like many of you, when I got married, it was my first dream to own my own house. We bought our first house in the U.K. at the age of 22.In the next five years, we bought and sold two more times. I was taught not to throw money away on rent (especially since interest was deductible) to maximize the mortgage to save taxes, and to move over and over again as things got better financially. That worked each time in the U.K.

I have to say, as I now look back over the last 25 years and seven moves here in the U.S., I think that philosophy has not held true unless you sold at the peak of the market, did not buy elsewhere, and got out while the going was good. In the last three to four years, few areas have been spared at least a 40Vo cut and most likely 507o or more.

The notion that everyone is entitled to their own house (interpreted by some as two or three when they could not afford even one) has caused many of the issues we face today. I am truly sorry for those people who lost their homes through no fault of their own. But it is the pain I see on television and in newspapers day in and day out that makes me wonder if there has been a paradigm shift in home ownership. As examples, both my children have stayed in their homes for eight to nine years already and have no thought ofrelocation. At their age, I had moved l0 times-admittedly, mostly corporate moves. Yet, according to a recent report, today only 64Vo think that home ownership is a good or safe investment, compared to83Vo in 2003 and 86Vo in 1996.

Of course,I hope I'm wrong. I know that when oil prices rise, auto sales move to smaller cars. Then when oil prices fall, everyone returns to buying bigger cars. It is possible we are going through a similar process in home ownership. Knowing that the national collective memory can be short, things could change in a couple of years. But I see signs that a change of thinking may be under way, perhaps caused by this prolonged recession, that might not change even when things get better.

Owning a house was where we built wealth, an asset we could pull money out of to improve it and increase its value. That certainly has not been true for the past few years and a return to that in the near future is unlikely. Indeed, an estimated 25Vo of all homes are underwater. Along with homeowners who are in foreclosure and those who want to get out but can't, there is an estimated "shadow" inventory of 8 million+ homes. And, here is the crux of the matter: Most of us are not good savers, but home ownership was a coercion if you will, to save money. We put our kids through college with it and hopefully in the end retain enough equity in it to retire with. Today it is estimated that one-third of us have less than $25K to retire with, excepting Social Security. Not good news.

History has shown that the system works when home values increase. But when they fall, well, we all know now what that means! Also consider that often homes are purchased with little or no money down. That leverage has contributed to the mess we are in today.

I think that home ownership, if you are financially secure, pay a price you can afford, and have longevity in a property, still makes sense. On the other hand, short-term ownership driven by the need to be mobile for career purposes likely will decrease. Consider that other countries seem to have stronger economies than us with lower home ownership (e.g., France 57Va, Switzerland 37Vo, and Germany 46Vo, compared to 677o here). Few would argue that their communities look worse than ours.

So if I am right, the rental business should continue to grow, remodeling will continue to climb, but home sales may be stagnant for a long time to come. As I read the other day, "our goal should be to put families not in the houses of their dreams. but rather in a house they can afford."

Alan Oakes, Publisher ajoakes@aol.com

www.building-products.com

A publication of Cutler Publishing 4500 Campus Dr., Ste, 480, Newport Beach, CA 92660

Publisher Alan 0akes ajoakes@aol.com

Publisher Emeritus David Cutler

Director of Editorial & Production David Koenig dkoenig@building-products.com

Editor Karen Debats kdebats@buildin g-products.com

Gontributing Editors

Dwight Cunan, Carla Waldemar, James Olsen, Jay Tompt, Mike Dandridge

Advertising Sales Manager Chuck Casey cmsey@building-products.com

Administration Director/Secretary Marie Oakes mfpoakes@aol.com

Circulation ltlanager Heather Kelly hkelly@building-products.com

How to Advertise

Chuck Casey

Phone (949) 852-1990 Fax 949-852-0231 ccasey@building-prod ucts.com

Alan Oakes www. building-products.com

Phone (949) 852-1990 Fax 949-852-0231 ajoakes@aol.com

CLASSIFIED

David Koenig

Phone (949) 852-1990 Fax 949-852-0231 dkoenig@building-products.com

How to Subscribe

SUBSCRIPTIONS Heather Kelly Phone (949) 852-1990 Fax 949-852-0231 hkelly@building-products.com or send a check to 4500 Campus Dr., Ste, 480, Newport Beach, CA 92660

U.S.A.: One year (12 issues), $22

Two years, $36

Three years, $50

FOREIGN (Per year, paid in advance in US tunds):

Surface-Canada or Mexico, $48 Other countries. $60

Air rates also availabb.

SINGLE COPIES $4 + shipping

BACK TSSUES $5 + shipping

25 -y ear li mited wa rra nty

Reversible, smooth/textu red surfar Contains eco-friendly recycled materials

Complements any siding and architecture

Fiber cement for lasting performan Smooth, square edges for finished appearance

Primed on six sides

Termite and weather resistant

Non-combustible

No specialized tools needed at jobs ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certifi