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July 17, 2009

Good Attendance Expected at ‘Raise the Floor’ Launch Event

The Southern Pine Council’s Raised Floor Living program, APA, the Northeast Florida Builders Association and the Florida Wood Council will hold an event next week to launch a three-part competition designed to create awareness of the benefits of raised wood floor foundations in Northeast Florida. The event, featuring exhibits, food and a band, will be held July 23 at NEFBA’s headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla. “We expect a good crowd and more than a dozen exhibitors,” said Cathy Kaake, SFPA’s senior director of engineered and framing markets.

Several SFPA members will be among the exhibitors.

In the first two phases of the competition – the “Raise the Floor: 2009 Design Challenge” – builders and designers are invited to compete for cash prizes and roles in the design and construction of a raised floor home in Northeast Florida. Builders who want the opportunity to build the winning design will submit applications, and APA will select a winner based on designated criteria. Designers will be invited to submit designs that celebrate the attributes and aesthetic appeal of a wood-framed home constructed on a raised floor. A jury of judges will review the entries, select the finalists and work with the winning builder to select the winning design. The resulting home construction project will be used as a live classroom for educating builders and designers about raised wood floor construction methods and details.

SPC is coordinating the third phase of the competition – a “Design your Dream Home” sweepstakes. The Raised Floor Living program will award the services of the grand-prize winner in the design contest to the winning homeowner.

For more information about the competition, contact Cathy at 504/443-4464, ext. 213, or ckaake@sfpa.org. Details are also available at www.apawood.org/raisethefloor.

Southern Pine Information Delivered by Sweets

The latest Southern Pine technical information is available to building professionals 24 hours a day thanks to the Southern Pine Council’s materials posted on www.sweets.com. The site attracts nearly 2.7 million unique visitors annually. Over the past 12 months, 4,282 professionals have reviewed SPC’s information, which includes an expanded manufacturer listing covering Southern Pine advantages and design properties supported by seven detailed product listings. Two dozen tables downloadable as PDFs are also available, along with wood’s environmental benefits and sustainability facts. On a monthly basis during 2009, over 340 building professionals have accessed SPC’s information, downloading nearly 100 tables.

In print, SPC’s eight-page insert is part of a multi-volume catalog distributed to some 20,000 firms of architects, engineers and contractors (AEC), plus another 44,000 firms of residential builders and remodelers. Throughout the year, quick-reference directories steering users to www.southernpine.com are also delivered to more than 108,000 AEC and residential building firms. “Publishing our information with Sweets is a very cost-effective method of delivering Southern Pine design information to key target audiences,” said SFPA’s Cathy Kaake, senior director of engineered and framing markets.

Meanwhile, Sweets parent, McGraw-Hill Construction, has published a Spring update to its Construction Outlook 2009. This 16-page report is available to Active and Affiliate members in the members-only section at www.sfpa.org. 

Housing Permits, Starts Continue Upward Trend in June

Statistics released by the U.S. Census Bureau today show that residential construction activity continued on a positive track in June. Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 563,000, an 8.7% increase over the revised May rate of 518,000, but 52% below the June 2008 estimate of 1,174,000. Permits for single-family units in June were at a rate of 430,000, 5.9% above the revised May figure of 406,000.

Meanwhile, privately-owned housing starts in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 582,000, a 3.6% increase over a revised May estimate of 562,000. However, that figure is 46% below the June 2008 rate of 1,078,000.

The largest increase came in single-family housing starts, which in June were at a rate of 470,000 for a 14.4% increase over the revised May figure of 411,000.

In the South, total permits were up 13.9% over May at 303,000 with single-family permits up 11.1% at 231,000. Total June starts in the South were down 1.4% at 272,000 when compared to May with single-family unit starts up 8.1% at 227,000.  As usual, a large portion of the nation’s residential construction activity occurred in the South, which recorded almost 54% of the permits granted for new housing units in June and almost 47% of the starts.

Click here to see the complete Census Bureau release and statistical breakdown.

Farewell to Former Member

John Edward Dean, a former Active member of SFPA and supporter of the Southern Pine Council, died July 13 at his home in Gilmer, Texas. He was 92. John spent most of his lifetime in the lumber business and started Dean Lumber Company in Gilmer in 1938. His son Steve Dean, president of Texas Forest Products Inc., continues as an active supporter of the Southern Pine Council. SFPA extends condolences to the Dean family.

Virginia Tech Announces Wood Week Dates

The Department of Wood Science and Forest Products at Virginia Tech will host its annual Wood Week September 14-18 on its campus in Blacksburg, Va. Activities planned for the week include the Career Fair, billed by VT as the largest university-sponsored career fair in North America for the wood and forest products industry. For more information, visit www.woodscience.vt.edu/woodweek/2009.

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