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March 14, 2008 Binational Council Gets Look at Recovery Progress
Members of the Binational Softwood Lumber
Council checked on progress with
the Raised Floor Living campaign and got a firsthand look at reconstruction
efforts during a trip to New Orleans, La., earlier this week. The 12-member
council heard updates on efforts to promote raised floor construction along
the Gulf Coast from SFPA President Digges Morgan and APA President Dennis
Hardman during a meeting
“A lot of the council members had not been to New Orleans before, and many of those who have visited had not seen the impact of Katrina and the failure of the levee system,” Digges said.
The group visited the Lower Ninth Ward and saw the point where a barge broke through a levee after Katrina struck, causing massive flooding. They also made a stop at Musicians’ Village in the Upper Ninth Ward, a Habitat for Humanity project featuring a multitude of brightly-colored raised wood floor cottages. Several of the cottages are involved in a study on how to control moisture in insulated raised floor systems that the Southern Pine Council and APA are helping fund. Additional stops were made at two demonstration home projects SPC is helping sponsor in conjunction with the National Green Building Conference coming to New Orleans in May.
“The tour was excellent,” Digges said. “It was a well-developed tour that the SFPA staff put together to showcase the various techniques being used to rebuild New Orleans.”
The Binational Council was created in conjunction with the Softwood Lumber Agreement 2006, which governs the trade of softwood lumber products between the United States and Canada. The council’s objective is to strengthen the North American softwood lumber industry by increasing the market for its products and building stronger cross-border partnerships and trust at all levels of the industry. To achieve those goals, the council received $50 million from U.S. duties collected on Canadian imports and is using those funds to support programs that meet its objectives. The council is made up of six members from Canada and six from the United States. SPC and APA are receiving Binational funding for their work to increase the use of raised wood floor systems. |
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Quality Crowd at DeckExpo Though very lightly attended, DeckExpo 2008 last week in Orlando, Fla., gave the Southern Pine Council a chance to promote the merits of treated Southern Pine decking amid a sea of composite products. “The quality of attendees was there,” said Richard Kleiner, SFPA’s director of treated markets. “Visitors to our display were most interested in the latest eco-friendly preservatives. Several asked about sourcing pressure-treated FSC lumber. They mentioned that bidding for government projects often requires FSC materials.”
SPC public relations consultant Kim Drew was on hand at DeckExpo to monitor the press room and meet with editors. She provided the latest Southern Pine information to staff members of Fine Homebuilding, Professional Deck Builder and Homebuilding Executive, among others. |
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Raised Floor Living Sponsors New Orleans Makeover Projects
ABC’s Emmy Award winning show – Extreme
Makeover: Home Edition – filmed
its season finale in New Orleans, La., this
week with Southern Pine and raised floor foundations playing a prominent
role. For those not familiar with the show, producers pick a
deserving family with a run-down or severely damaged home, send them away
for a week and then bring in a team of designers, contractors and hundreds
of
We won’t give you a lot of details about the episode – don’t want to spoil the show – but it involves two projects, the Noah’s Ark Church in New Orleans and a home in nearby Westwego. Both projects have raised floor foundations and feature plenty of Southern Pine lumber. Much of the lumber was supplied by current Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association Chairman Bryant Beadles of Beadles Lumber and Balfour Lumber companies. Bryant and both companies are active participants in SPC. SFPA Active member Georgia-Pacific LLC was also involved.
Primary builder for the projects is Deltec Homes of Asheville, N.C., which produces hurricane-resistant structures. Deltec manufactures the structural components for their homes in Asheville and ships them all over the world where they are assembled and finished by local labor. One of the builders involved – a partner of Deltec – is also building one of three 2008 Southern Living Idea Houses, a project in which SLMA’s Southern Pine Awareness Network (SPAN) has participated for the past several years.
“We were pleased to work with Extreme Makeover and Deltec on this dynamic raised floor building demonstration and look forward to other opportunities to promote our campaign,” said SFPA President Digges Morgan.
The show is scheduled to air on ABC May 18. We’ll provide photos showing some of the construction details at a later date. Sponsors also include SFPA Active member Weyerhaeuser Company and Associate member Smart Vent Inc. |
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SFPA on the Road SFPA staff members frequently take to the roads and airways to tell Southern Pine’s story to builders, designers, building inspectors and other key segments of the building industry. Here’s a look at some upcoming events.
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No Newsletter Next Week SFPA’s office will close Friday, March 21, in observance of Good Friday. As a result – and because SFPA Newsletter editor Georgiann Gullett will also be out of the office for a two-day meeting – there will be no newsletter next week. Watch for the next issue on March 28. |
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Copyright © 2008. Reproduction in whole or in part, by electronic or mechanical means, without written authorization from SFPA is prohibited. |
Tuesday in New Orleans. Digges and several members
of the SFPA staff then hosted the group for a bus tour of some of the areas
devastated during Hurricane Katrina and a look at several local raised floor
projects.
workers
to rebuild the home in just seven days. After learning this episode would
involve properties in the New Orleans area damaged by Hurricane Katrina,
Southern Pine Council public relations consultant Kim Drew did some quick
research and realized the project represented a great sponsorship
opportunity for SPC’s Raised Floor Living campaign. 
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