Vyh.a,t horneor rril.ers think a,leorrt trea,ted rAroocf

A LTHOUGH some in the lumber la.industry fear that media misinformation about treated wood has scared off many consumers, a newly released survey reveals that'157o of U.S. homeowners are willing to use treated wood in their homes.

The study, "What Do U.S. Homeowners Think about Treated Wood?", was conducted in 2001 by Louisiana State University's Richard Vlosky and Todd Shupe and queried nearly 500 homeowners on their perceptions of treated wood.

| . Treated wood vs. other materials

Homeowners rated concrete and steel as the most durable building materials, followed by hearty wood species like cedar and redwood. Treated wood was ranked fourth, ahead of only untreated wood in the ll-25 year durability category.

Over two-thirds of respondents believed that treated wood would last I l-25 years in exposed conditions.

Approximately half of those surveyed felt that plastic and steel caused the most environmental damage, whereas 38Vo felt that treated wood was environmentally harmful to produce.

2, Perceptions about treqted wood

Only 5Vo of homeowners had a negative perception of treated wood. Almost hall t4OVc) had a positive perception of treated wood and nearly a quarter had "a very positive" view of the product.

Out of 327 respondents who said they would use treated wood in their home, 427o lived in the South, 677o

Homeowners had

great difficulty naming treated wood brands. were male and 51 7o had a college degree.

For the 257o who said they would not use treated wood in their homes, the greatest concern was the perceived health risks, followed closely by a concern about long-term exposure to the product.

Respondents received their information on treated wood, in order of frequency, from friends, magazines, newspapers and television.

Other findings included: 547o would pay a premium for treated wood over the non-treated alternative.

.49Vo felt they understood the concept of wood treating,

. 45Vo believed that using treated wood can reduce deforestation, and .277o trtst claims made by treated wood manufacturers. ft

6. Applications and purchases

Over half (52V0) of respondents said they have decks made of treated wood at their homes. Exactly half have landscape timbers and 3'77o have some other type of outdoor structure made of pressure treated wood.

A quarter of the homeowners said they planned to buy landscape timbers in the next l2 months, l97o planned to purchase decking and l77o had plans to purchase treated fence posts or rails. Nearly a quarter of homeowners have hired a contractor or remodeler in the past 12 months for a treated wood project. Only 2l%o knew what a Consumer Information Sheet was.

4. soyrty irru",

Sixty-nine percent of homeowners felt that treated wood is safe for humans in outdoor appli- cations. Over half (557o) felt it was safe if handled and disposed of properly. About half said it was safe for builders to use.

Sixty percent said that they wanted more information on treated wood products, although they indicated that treated wood manufacturers were the least trustworthy source for information on the safety of treated wood products.

The survey also revealed that homeowners consider environmental organizations as the most trusted source for information on the safety of treated wood.

Other findings included:

317o believed that treated wood is safe for children's outdoor play equipment, . 347a said it was safe for pets or farm animal exposure, and . 337o believed that some types of treated wood are safer than others, while two-thirds were not sure.

5. nrond, and chemicals

Homeowners had great difficultY naming treated wood brands. Many of the names they cited were not actually treated brand names. The only treating chemical that was widely recognized (107o) was creosote. Familiarity with all other chemicals listed was very low.

Seventy-one percent felt that arsenic posed a significant risk to human health. The percePtion of health risks dropped sharply with the remaining chemicals listed. Many of those surveyed had no opinion on many of the chemicals listed.

6.Termites

Homeowners felt overwhelminglY (88%) that steel was the best building material to combat termites. Only onethird believed that treated wood greatly protects against termite damage.

Of the 22Vo who said theY were familiar with Formosan subterranean termites, 657o were from the South and glVo felt that the pests had the potential to cause serious damage to the houses. Treated wood was cited by 267a as a Preventative measure asainst the termites.

l:rnuns

Ace Hardware Corp)s proposal to build a 1.2 million-sq. ft. warehouse and office complex in Woodland, Ca., was rejected by the local city council ...

Home Depot this month opens new stores in NE Mesa and Carefree (Phoenix), Az.; Camarillo, Ca.; Roswell, N.M., and Redmond, Wa.

Home Depot received Planning commission approval to build in Hercules, Ca.; got the go-ahead to add a 98,452-sq. ft. store with 24,240-sq. ft. garden center in Watsonville, Ca.; is considering sites in Wenatchee, Wa., and will open an Expo Design Center earlY next year in Scottsdale, Az. ...

Lowe's Cos. opens new stores this month in La Habra, Ca. (Kevin Little, mgr.); Goodyear, Az. (Amie Cooper, mgr.), and E. Albuquerque, N.M. (Russell Siemens, mgr.)

Lowe's is building a new store in Pico Rivera (Los Angeles) Ca., with a fall opening expected; will begin building this summer on 12 acres in Hawthorne, Ca.; plans a 166,000-sq. ft. store on 21 acres in McMinnville, Or., and is building units in Hillsboro, Or., and Vancouver, Wa.

Fred Meyer is no longer selling lumber at its 133 stores in Or., Wa., Id., Ut., and Ak.; the superstores still carry tools and other home improvement products

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DeCou Lumber, Atascadero, Ca., asked town residents to recognize a "Hometown Hero" in an essav as part of Memorial DaY obseivanc'es: the winner receiveil $5,000 donated to a charity of their choosins and also a $l;000 Ace Universafcift Certificate

Wrorrsruns/trrutlcrun:rs

Warld Trade Organization has denied Canada's request for the U.S. to retroactively refund softwood lumber duties

Lumber Yard Supply anticiPates an August opening for a new location in Billings, Mt. (Bob Turbes, mgr.), and an October comPletion for a $3.5 million facility in Great Falls, Mt., to replace the yard destroyed by fire in January (see Feb., p.26)

Wi s c ons in - C alifornia Fo re st Products recently auctioned off equipment from its shuttered sawmill in Redding, Ca.

Van G Logistic Services, Fowler, Ca., has opened new transload facilities on a 1O0-acre site in Lathrop, Ca., and in Santa Maria, Ca., as a joint venture with the Santa MariaValley Railroad ...

D.R. Johnson Lumber, Riddle, Or., has acquired stud mill North Powder Lumber, North Powder, Or., from TreeSource Industries, Portland, Or. ...

Pacific MDF Products recently opened new corporate offices in Rocklin. Ca. ...

Georgia-Pacific closed its Sigurd, Ut., plaster mill June 30, a year after shuttering wallboard operations at the plant: G-P acquired the 10O-year-old facility in 1965 ...

G e o rg ia- Pac ific' s consumer products business filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission to raise $1 billion in an initial public offering; separating it from its building products unit, which would continue to be run by G-P and would likely retain asbestos liability...

Rocky Mountain Forest Pro' ducts, Latanie, Wy., has acquired the assets of Medallion Millwork, Marysville, Ca.; Madallion general mgr. Don Mays stays on as an owner

Hambro Forest Products hoPes to restart Louisiana-Pacffc's shuttered Arcata, Ca., particleboard plant early this month; the mill shut down June 20

Shasta Cascade Forest Indusrries, Redding, Ca., has expanded its rail transload program to be included as a One-Plus Partner of Union Pacific Distribution Services

Louisiana Pacific CorP. is offering to settle with individuals in an Inner-Seal siding product liability class action suit for an immediate payment equal to 35.9Vo of their claim

Conrad Forest Products, North Bend, Or., has received chain-ofcustody certification from the Forest Stewardship Council

Anniversaries: United States Gypsum Co., 100th Pedrotti Ace Hardware, Benicia, Ca., 8fth ... Standard Structures, Inc., Windsor. Ca.. 55th ... Wholesale Builders Supply, Inc., Las Vegas, Nv., 30th Escondido Building Materials, Escondido, Ca., 25th Barrelhead Building SuPPlY, South Beach, Or.,25th

Housing starts in MaY (latest figs.) soared ll.6%o to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.733 million ... single-family starts jumped 9.67o to 1.389 million: multi-family was at a rate of 319,000 for 5+ units ... permits rcse 2.6Vo to an

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