Videos Bring Builders Up to Speed Fast on Raised Floor Construction
Professionals who haven’t constructed a raised floor home or perhaps just need a refresher can quickly catch up on the basics thanks to a series of short videos now available on www.RaisedFloorLivingPro.com
. Consumers will also find the series helpful. The vignettes, which are each about two minutes long, explain what a raised floor is and cover site prep and footings, foundation design, crawlspace considerations, framing options, and porches and decks.
Winner to be Announced Soon in Jacksonville Design Competition
The name of the winning designer in the “Raise the Floor 2009 Design Challenge” will be announced Nov. 3 at a meeting of the Jacksonville, Fla., chapter of the American Institute of Architects. APA is coordinating the design challenge to help educate Jacksonville-area builders, designers and consumers on the benefits of raised wood floor foundations. The winning designer will receive a cash prize and also have his or her raised floor design used in a project being built by Andy Chambers of the Mastercraft Builder Group.
In a related effort, the Southern Pine Council is sponsoring a sweepstakes that will award the services of the winning designer to a Jacksonville- area homeowner interested in building a raised floor home. The sweepstakes and the raised floor concept are being promoted in a series of television segments appearing on the CBS (WTEV) and FOX (WAWS) affiliates in Jacksonville. Contestants can enter at www.RaisedFloorLiving.com
. The sweepstakes ends Nov. 21.
Now That’s a ‘Progressive’ Idea
About 60 building and design professionals attended an event called “Progressive Homes, Progressive Dinner,” Oct. 20 in Houston. Billed as “a tour of the future,” the APA-sponsored event featured three “progressively-built” raised floor homes under construction with a “progressive” dinner served along the way. Appetizers were provided at the first home, the main course at the second home and dessert, of course, at the final home. Construction topics highlighted during the tour included one-piece poured footings and piers, wood-framed pony walls, closed crawlspaces, advanced floodplain management concepts, green building techniques, engineered wood product applications and cost-effectiveness.
Educating Designers and Building Pros
Two “Build Your Knowledge” seminars on raised wood floor and wood wall construction sponsored last month by APA attracted good crowds. The seminars – held in Mobile, Ala., and Biloxi, Miss. – featured Dr. Jeffrey Stone, a senior management professional with more than 40 years experience in building construction, engineering and public administration. Joining Stone in the speaker lineup were Robert Clark and Paul DiGiorgio of APA, and Richard Kleiner of the Southern Forest Products Association. Seminar topics were “Raised Floor Living,” “Framing the Home of the Future,” “Preservative Treated Wood Products” and “Understanding Hurricane-Resistive Construction.”
The Mobile seminar was attended by 36 building and design professionals, while the Biloxi event drew 66 attendees. In a follow-up evaluation of the events, a total of 95 percent of the attendees indicated that they were more likely to build or specify a raised wood floor as a result of the information presented, while 92 percent indicated they were more likely to build or specify a fully wood-sheathed wall.
Web Site Traffic Indicates Continuing Interest in Raised Floors
Traffic to a two-section site about raised floor foundations continues to maintain a healthy flow, indicating a measure of success with the Southern Pine Council and APA’s efforts to educate consumers and building professionals about the advantages of raised floors. Statistics for the third quarter of 2009 show a combined 75,489 unique visitors to the homeowner and professional sides of the Raised Floor Living site 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. The “Design Your Dream Home” sweepstakes in the Jacksonville, Fla., area along with a series of television segments promoting the sweepstakes and raised floors are also contributing to the increase.
For more information, contact
APA
Phone: (253) 565-6600
www.apawood.org
Southern Forest Products Association
Phone: (504) 443-4464
www.southernpine.com
