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October 23, 2009 New Video Series Covers Raised Floor Basics
The Southern Pine Council recently
produced a new series of six brief
video vignettes explaining the construction process of a raised floor home
from start to finish. The vignettes, each running about two
“This series goes a long way toward answering the most commonly asked questions about raised floor construction; and the content is presented in very basic, non-technical terms to educate a wide range of audiences,” says Richard Wallace, SFPA’s vice president of communications.
Click here to see the videos, which are also available on the home page of the Raised Floor Living site for building professionals and on a page about SPC’s work with Habitat for Humanity. |
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Starts Up, Permits Down in September Housing starts were up, while permits for new projects were down last month, the U.S. Census Bureau reported earlier this week. Permits issued for privately owned housing units were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 573,000, 1.2% below the revised August rate of 580,000. Single-family permits were at a rate of 450,000, a 3% drop from the revised August figure of 464,000. Privately owned housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 590,000, a half percent above the revised August estimate of 587,000. Single-family starts were at a rate of 501,000, a 3.9% increase over the August figure of 482,000. Click here for the Census Bureau’s release plus regional statistics. |
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APHIS Seeks Comments on Wood Packaging Rule The U. S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is accepting comments on a domestic treatment rule for wood packaging material (WPM) designed to help prevent the spread of wood pests. “Based on what I’ve read, it appears APHIS may require all domestic shipments of WPM to comply with ISPM-15, the international voluntary standard that regulates international WPM shipments,” said Russell Richardson, SFPA’s director of industrial markets.
Although the National Wooden Pallet & Container Association states that firewood, not WPM, is the major cause of the spread of wood pests, it feels some type of regulation is inevitable and supports having one comprehensive rule rather than multiple rules for different states and pests. “Southern Pine has not been much of a concern with wood pests like the Emerald Ash Borer and similar pests, but a national regulation could affect the Southern Pine used in industrial products,” Russell said. “So it is important to submit comments to assure that if a regulation is implemented, the most cost effective and feasible solution is used.”
Comments must be submitted by Monday, October 26, by either of the following methods:
Click here for a copy of the proposal as it appears in the Federal Register, and for additional information, contact Russell at 504/443-4464, ext. 239, or rrichardson@sfpa.org. |
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EXPO Advisory Committee Meets in New Orleans Proposals from four contractors vying to provide general services for EXPO 2011 were among items discussed at a meeting of the EXPO Advisory Committee during SFPA’s Annual Meeting last week in New Orleans. The meeting was well attended with 12 committee members, three SFPA staff members and two guests present.
The group narrowed the proposals down to two
and will make a final decision after obtaining additional information from
the two candidate firms. The committee decided to seek the proposals earlier
in the year to
In other action, the committee recommended a member of SFPA’s Board of Directors be invited to serve as the committee’s chair person to facilitate a more active partnership between the committee and the board. SFPA’s board approved the recommendation, and as a result, Fritz Mason of Georgia-Pacific LLC – an SFPA board member and SFPA’s incoming treasurer – will serve a two-year term as chairman of the EXPO Advisory Committee. “We are excited that Fritz has agreed to step into this role and look forward to working with him as we prepare for EXPO,” said Eric Gee, director of EXPO. |
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SPC Sites Major Conduit for Promoting Wood
The latest statistics show that 68,832 unique visitors logged onto www.southernpine.com during the third quarter of 2009, down 5% from 72,786 unique visitors in the same quarter last year. While on the site, visitors viewed 225,508 pages, a 15% decrease from the 265,983 pages viewed in third quarter 2008.
Traffic to a two-section site about raised floor foundations was up last quarter. Statistics show a combined 75,489 unique visitors to the homeowner and professional sides of the Raised Floor Living site during the third quarter of 2009 compared to 50,822 unique visitors during the third quarter of 2008. That’s a 48.5% increase. Those visitors viewed 197,694 pages last quarter, a 22% increase over the 162,335 pages viewed in the third quarter 2008. Much of the increase can be attributed to a Raised Floor Living television and Internet advertising campaign that began during the third quarter. Also boosting traffic is a “Design Your Dream Home” sweepstakes in the Jacksonville, Fla., area along with a series of television segments promoting the sweepstakes and raised floors. Some of the increased traffic, however, comes from technical changes associated with the recent launch of the section for homeowners. That part of the traffic increase is expected to level off after a few months.
For more information, contact Georgiann Gullett, SFPA’s communications manager, at 504/443-4464, ext. 216, or by e-mail at ggullett@sfpa.org. |
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Copyright © 2009. Reproduction in whole or in part, by electronic or mechanical means, without written authorization from SFPA is prohibited. |
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