Treated market stays strong

By Wes Alt President Western Wood Preservers Institute

A LL INDICATIONS are that tt 1991 sales of treated lumber products will be as good asor better thanthis year's, with the second half of the year better than the first.

The growing confidence of remodelers and do-it-yourselfers in the environmental acceptability and guaranteed longevity of pressure treated wood is evident in their increasing reliance on the product. This is a particularly important factor in the continuing growth of the market. To assure the vitality, dynamism and health of that growth, the Western Wood Preservers Institute is promoting pressure treated wood in both the residential and industrial sectors of the market.

While western housing starts are expected to be down 7o/o for 1990, lumber used for repair and remodeling in both residential and non-residential sectors is slowing at a lower rate than any other use category. Making up 32.70/o of total softwood lumber consumption, this market is expected to consume 14.7 billion b.f. in 1990 compared to 14.9 billion in 1989, a decrease of less than l%.

Although the dramatic increases in the cost of housing since 1974 are slowing down, they continue to discourage new home buying. Buyers are either purchasing "fixers," or renovating the homes in which they now live.

The increase in home renovation projects sgch as pressure treated wood'{ecks and other backyard projects shows no sign of slowing. Sales of better grades of deck lumber have remained steady.

In homes where untreated wood has rotted or been attacked by insects, pressure treated wood is being