Boca-developed lumber staves off mold, pests in house frames

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Boca-developed lumber staves off mold, pests in house frames

By Lori Becker

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2006/04

/01/a1f_bluwood_0401.html

Saturday, April 01, 2006

BOCA RATON — Morando has a solution to help homeowners

combat some of their peskiest problems: blue houses.

More specifically, houses built with BluWood, a chemically treated

blue-colored lumber that protects against mold, wood rot and

termites.

Home builders in the Carolinas, Texas and Central Florida already

are using the wood, hoping to add a safeguard in their humid, mold-

prone climates.

And Morando's WoodSmart Solutions Inc. is working to get the product

to builders across the country.

" Home buyers want to be protected, particularly with the prices of

homes today, " said Morando, 64. He added: " Moisture's the killer. If

you can control the moisture, you can control the mold and insects. "

WoodSmart's " Perfect Barrier " factory-applied treatment has two

parts: an infusion film that controls moisture levels by repelling

water yet letting vapors escape, and a wood preservative that

resists decay and protects from wood-eating insects.

The treatment goes on clear, but WoodSmart adds blue dye to make the

wood stand out.

And it's working: Builders who use the blue lumber say their

projects are drawing a lot of attention.

" It's an excellent opportunity to distinguish ourselves from our

competition, " said Mark Meyer, vice president of sales for Brunswick

Homes, a luxury home builder in Dallas that's using BluWood on a

$2.1 million speculation house in McKinney, Texas. " We're trying to

appeal to a clientele that wants the best. "

Tucked away in an industrial plaza off Boca Raton Boulevard,

WoodSmart's chemists began developing the treatment solution in

2001. Morando previously owned a specialty coatings company in

Lakewood, N.Y., that he sold in 1998 before moving to Florida.

During the past two years, the privately held company has had

several research labs and universities, including Louisiana State

University's Forest Products Development Center, test the system to

verify it meets the standards of the American Wood Preservers

Association.

" Mold is everywhere, but we can manage it effectively, " said Mani

Skaria, a plant pathologist and professor at Texas A & M University

who has been researching mold and its impact on air quality in

buildings for 16 years. " That is what is lacking in today's

construction industry. "

Skaria is building a house in Mc, Texas, using BluWood and

other technologies that keep homes free of moisture.

BluWood adds about $1.50 per square foot to the cost of a home,

Morando said. So on a 3,000-square-foot house, it would cost an

extra $4,500.

WoodSmart had about $4 million in sales last year. Morando expects

that to double this year. Right now, mostly boutique home builders

are using BluWood, but Morando is starting to get the attention of

larger contractors.

Among them is Centex Corp., the nation's fourth-largest home

builder. In early March, Dallas-based Centex started using BluWood

for the roof and floor trusses of its homes in Central and Southwest

Florida.

" That's where most of the mold issues are, " said Doug Hynds,

division manager of CTX Builders Supply in Plant City. CTX is owned

by Centex and provides all of the materials for the home

builder. " We're 100 percent BluWood. Our yard looks like Smurf land. "

There are several wood treatment products aimed at termite

protection but few that prevent mold, builders said.

And most anti-mold products on the market are applied after the

frame of the house is built.

WoodSmart makes its chemical solution in Greenville, S.C. It has six

treatment plants around the country, including one near Winter

Haven, that apply the solution to lumber.

The company has plans to open 11 more by year's end, Morando said.

The first treatment plant opened in Conway, S.C., two years ago,

where the first homes were built with BluWood.

About a dozen builders in the Myrtle Beach, S.C., area are now using

the treated lumber.

That includes Bill Homes, which is using BluWood in its

townhouses and condominiums.

" It's catching on around here, " said , vice president

of purchasing and land development for Bill 's Myrtle Beach

division. " We haven't had any problems. Of course, I'm only a year

and a half into it. "