Huber Engineered Woods Builds House Consumers Will Buy
Survey Determines Worth of Structural Building Products
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (June 9, 2009) – An economy with 330,000 unsold new homes despite a 19 percent decline in home prices year-over-year and a pending federal home buying tax credit suggests that consumers are not likely to spend more than necessary for a home. However, according to a recent national survey conducted by Parker Marketing Research on behalf of Huber Engineered Woods, nearly 60 percent of the 150 homebuyers polled were more likely to spend $1,000 more for a home built with Huber building products.
“Homebuyers want a quiet, stiff floor and a living environment that offers superior moisture protection,” said Charlie Robinson, AdvanTech product general manager. “Even in this economy, this research shows that prospective new homeowners are willing to pay more for building materials that deliver on those performance features. We presented several subflooring, wall sheathing and roof sheathing options in the survey and discovered that the cumulative benefits of the AdvanTech subflooring products appealed greatly to homebuyers.”
The survey asked consumers, who either purchased a new home in the past two-to-three years or plan to do so in the next two-to-three years, to consider several building concepts including AdvanTech flooring, or the combination of all Huber Engineered Wood products including AdvanTech subflooring, and Zip System roof and wall sheathing products versus comparable alternatives including commodity OSB or Plywood and name brand or private label housewrap. While the individual AdvanTech flooring received a very favorable response, those polled were most likely to spend more for a home built with the combination of all Huber subflooring and roof and wall sheathing products. The survey also determined that this combination performed the best in areas of overall appeal, impact on interest, new and different, benefit over other homes, and impact on impression of quality and likelihood to consider if $1,000 more versus homes built with alternative materials.
ZIP System
The ZIP System® wall with built-in water-resistive barrier is a structural wall panel, moisture barrier and air barrier all-in-one, providing a tight envelope and curb appeal during the construction process. ZIP System® tape provides moisture resistance for seams, valleys and ridges, can help reduce air leaks as recommended by ENERGY STAR® EFFORT and is code recognized as window and door flashing tape when used with ZIP System Wall (ESR-2227).
ZIP System® roof panels have a built-in moisture barrier and eliminate the need for roof felt paper and H-clips. A code recognized underlayment all-in-one, ZIP System roof panels prevent expensive rework due to torn felt, and shingles or tiles can be applied directly to the panels. Since the panels are faster to install than traditional methods and provide an instant 120-day rough dry-in, builders can schedule subcontractors sooner, ultimately completing the house in less time.
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Huber Engineered Woods LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of J.M. Huber Corporation, a diversified, multinational supplier of engineered materials, natural resources and technology-based services to markets ranging from paper and energy to construction. An innovative building solution provider for the housing market, Huber Engineered Woods offers such specialty products as AdvanTech® flooring and sheathing, as well as the new ZIP System® wall and ZIP System® roof products. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Huber Engineered Woods has manufacturing operations in Maine, Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee and Oklahoma, as well as research and development facilities in Georgia. Huber Engineered Woods also serves industrial markets with products for door manufacturers and the transportation industry. For more information, visit www.huberwood.com.