Low Cogt Ait Conditioning To Hit Mass Market in 1953 NAHB Survey Discloceg

Chicago-Low cost home air conditioning for the average American family will hit the housing market in a big way this year, a survey of the country's leading builders has disclosed.

Findings of the survey. were made public by the National Assobiation of Home Builders at the NAHB's annual convention-exposition here.

The survey showed that year-round, indoor weather control, corirbining winter heating with air conditioning for the hot summer days, will be a major feature in thousands of medium-priced homes to be built throughout the United States in 1953.

Ol 255 prominent builders covered by the NAHB survey' 104, or almost 40 per cent, said they will offer air conditioned homes to the buying public this year. Nine others indicated they would do so if the system did not add too much to the cost of the house'

Those reflies came from home builders in -30 states extending from New England to Florida and from the Atlantic seaboard to the West Coast.

A dozen of the 141 "No air conditioning"' replies game from Washington, Oregon and Southern California builders who said their part of the country is "air conditioped by Nature" and needs no artificial lveather making for the home.

The survey was an outgrowth of a recent meeting between NAHB officials and representatives of the country's leading air conditioning manufacturers. The manufacturers said they were prepared to mass produce systems this yepr for use in homes selling for $15,000 and under.

Home air conditioning already is off to a flying start iir Texas and other parts of the Southwest, where some builders have introduced it within the past year in housing priced as low as $10,500. Until nowi however, it has been strictly a luxury item in most other areas.

The NAHB survey showed that air conditioned homes will be ofiered this year to average income families in such northern cities as Bufialo, Rochester and Elmira, N. Y., Hartford, Conn., Chicago, Flint, Mich., Minneapolis, and Portland, Ore.

Seventeen builders said they would limit air conditioning to their higher-priced homes, generally above $20,000, or would include it only as an "optional" feature for which the buyer would have to PaY extra.

The overwhelming majority, however, plan to offer the extra convenience and comfort of built-in air conditioning as standard equipment in their middle-priced housing.

One Bronx, N. Y., builder said he will air condition a low priced housing project he is erecting this year. A Jacksonville, Fla., builder said he plans to do the same thing in single family houses priced as-low as $10,000, and another in Albuquerque, N. M., said he is installing evaporative air conditioning systems in homes selling for as little 4s $7,600.

Builders in San Antonio, Tex., Oklahoma City, and Louisville, Ky., reported plans to air condition up to half the houses they erect this year. The Tulsa, Okla., Home Builders Association said that about 1,5(X) air conditioned homes priced between $14,5m and $18,5(X) are planned for that area this year.

Other representative areas in which 1953 home buyers rvill be offered built-in air conditioning at modest prices include Long Island, N.Y., Providence, R.f., Baltimore, Md., Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pa., Columbus, Akron, Dayton and Toledo, Ohio, Lincoln, Nebr., Knoxville, Mem-' phis and Chattanooga, Tenn., Sioux City and Des Moines, Ia., South Bend and India{rapolis, Ind., Wichita, Kans., St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo., and Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston, Texas.

Promotion Worlc of Olympic Stained Products Company

The accompanying photo shows how Burr Odell, sales manager for Olympic Steined Products Company, discusses the merchandising plans of his firm for 1953 with a grolp of salesmen representing one of their retail distributors. This direct educational program is one of the main lines of those merchandising plans. Many distributors are tius approached.

At one of these sessions, generally held in comfortable hotel suites after offce hours, a company representative outlines for his guests the merchandising plans for the yrcar, then shows by a variety of interesting projected pictures. just what he means. Full color kodachrome slides are used.

Various tested merchandising alds in Olympic's 1953 program include a newspaper mat service; mailings over the dealer's signature to architects and contracts, detailing the Olympic gre-staine-d line; seU-illuminating Highway Signs; and Olympic Stain "Demonstration Bar" for the salesroom; lithographed enclosures, folders, color charts, wall and window displays, etc., and a free sketch servic€ for dealers' use when estimating remodeling jobs with Olympic products fpr particqlar prospects. Otympic Stained Products Company's plant and general offices are located at lllS Leary Way, Seattle, Wash.

Thol's extrq-long ond speciolized. We've been hitting the buitding moleriols morkel for 35 yeors now. We've mode o mistoke or lwo. But experience hos tought us whot this morket needs . . ond when it needs whot.

It's the kind of experience lhoi iust noturolly leods us to the best buys. Thot hos convinced us the best woy to build business is to poss on lhe ledrnings of thot experience to you.

So when you're looking for hordwood or softwood Plywoods, Mosonite Brond Producls, or Formicq toke odvontoge of our experience.

New Plywood Sales to Department Stores

Here's an idea for possible neu. pl,r-u'ood saies to department stores. Xlotion pictrrre companies har-e developed a techniciue for reusing plyl'oocl flats in their sets that can cut handling and display' costs in setting up u'indr.lu- backgronr.rds painted in solid colors or <lesigns.

This treatment makes it possible for a displrrr- clepartment to use background panels over and oler again. It means that the old surface can be removed and the pancl prepared for repainting in nen' clisplar.s l'ith a minimum of labor.

I3oth plastic surfaced and stanclard grades of Douglas fir plyu'ood are being used in this application. Columbia Pictures Corp., for exar.npie uses both tl'pes for the reusable flats in the sets on "Anyone But You" starring Jane \\r1-man.

A typical flat is 3/s" plasttc-surfaced fir ph-u-ood nailed to a light lumber frameu'ork. The standard flat is 6' x 12'. The crerv keeps 6" t'idths of pl1'n'ood in stock to build up the flat to other sizes u'here necessAr\'. In displar- u-ork, the standard sized 4'x 8'panel rvould probablv prove satisfactory rvith small units being kept on hand to add to the size. Other standard sizes adaptable to an existing store setup could be developed by any dispial- department.

When the flat for a display has been set up, the plvn'ood surface shouid first be shellacked. Next. the joir.rts are flushed rvith plaster to achieve a good, smooth, crack-iree

Ptywood

Douglos Fir

Ponderoso Pine

Knotty Pine surface. \\'here flats are not joined. the ilushing plaster u-ill not be recltrirecl.

The actual painting surface is a flat u'hite rr-allpaper. This is applierl l'ith stanrlard pastc to u'hich glr-cerin is added. The aclclitiun oi gl-r'cerin insures that the paper can be flacketl ()tt Nithout rlithcrrltr- prior t,) resuse as another lrackground.

I'lrtstic surfacetl pllu ootl. :rlthough its initial cost is slightl_r' higher than a standar<l gnrde of l)ouglas fir pl-r'u-ood, facilitatcs fl:rking of oltl surf:rces u.ith a consequent signihcant redrrction in handling tirne. It is nrade in ts'o t-\-l)es-one u'ith a merliuur densit-r' srrrf:rce and the other a high densitv surface. 'fhe latter is nrost srritable in flats lrccattse it has :r h:rrd. glass-snrooth surface rrnaffected br' tttoisture.

It can be olrt:rine<l through nt()st I)l-\'\\'ood distributing fr rm s.

Hoo-Hoo-Ettes Meeting

Hoo-Hoo-Ettes Club \r-r. I nlet on \Ionda-r- er-ening. Febmarr'9. at the Roclger You11g -\rrditoriunr. Los -\ngs1s5. ])inner u-as servecl at {-r :39 p.m. l'resiclent I'-r'elr-n lirvrear. FIamnrond I-urnber Contpan_v, presicled and the nrain order of business u-as the adoption of a rer-ision of the L.lulr's llr'-Lau's.

The next nreeting u'ill be held the evening of JIarch 9 at -\nclerson's, 57th Street and -\tlantic IJlrd.. \Iavl'ood. Calif.

Ptywood

Ook

Africqn. frlohogony

Wolnut Birch Gum

PlYWOOD

Orientol Ash

Philippine llohogony

Finnish Birch

Q"H.nnberg PLY\TOOD AND LUMBER CO., INC.

llOW: Exclusive represenlotives ond distributors of RAILITE PLASTICS. Beoutiful potterns in Peqrls qnd Wood Groins. Archilects, fobricotors ond designers ore using Roilile lominoted surfoces for Kitchen Counters, Dinette Tobles, Counler Tops, Desk Tops, Occosionol Furniture, Woll Poneling, Show Coses, ond in hundreds of other products.

cotoR SwtED

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Speciol Nole: We now corry complete worehouse stocks of Orientol Ash, Philippine Mohogony, ond Finnish Birch.

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PHONE TRinity 8682