12/01/1998
Profiles Inc., a certified wood products brokerage firm, and Upstream Associates, a contracting company, based in Westport, are collaborating to build the first three houses entirely with certified forest products. The houses, which total over 52,000 square feet, incorporate certified framing lumber, exterior and interior trim, siding, roofing, windows, doors, flooring and architectural millwork.
The project has taken over two years of research and development. When a project specified wooden roofing shingles, aromatic cedar, or engineered products such as glue laminates - none of which were available certified - Profiles Inc. would have to find a certified producer of the raw product and a manufacturer willing to process the material, and broker a deal between the two. As part of the brokering process, the company often paid for the costs of a manufacturer to get chain-of-custody certified. "If they're willing to work with us, we'll take care of the costs," remarked Harry Page of Profiles Inc.
The companies' aggressiveness in pursuing and developing a full range of certified forest products is paying off. "Our phones are ringing off the wall," says Page. "We're getting calls from contractors, suppliers, architects, individual home builders. People are realizing this can be done." None of the three clients in these projects asked for a certified house. "We brought certification to them as an extra value," explains Brad Carlson of Upstream Associates.
Certification added no cost to the project. "What I've learned from this project is that you can be an environmentally sensitive company and still be competitive. Every house was accepted on an open competitive bid basis." Since, according to Carlson, the price of certified products is much less volatile that non-certified products, it was easier to plan for the fixed costs of wood products. They were able to hold down the cost of wood products by doing most of the legwork and research prior to submitting bids for the houses.
SmartWood, the certification agency responsible for certifying Profiles Inc., recently sent an inspection agent to monitor the project. "We're really excited to see a company like Profiles pushing the envelope of what can be done with certified wood," says John Landis. He adds that the project demonstrates that the supply of certified products is finally reaching critical mass.
Profiles Inc. plans to open a certified lumberyard in Westport this year. 203-341-7467