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
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